UD Shoots A Season-Best 60% From The Field

DAYTON – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team defeated Duquesne on Wednesday night at the UD Arena 75-54. Dayton improves to 16-8 (8-3 A-10), while Duquesne drops to 6-15 (1-8 A-10). The Flyer roster saw a lot of action tonight with 11 of the 13 players scoring points. UD dominated the scoreboard and held the lead for 34:43. 

Nine Flyers scored at least six points in the 20-point win, with redshirt freshman Kobe Elvis leading the Flyers in scoring with a total of 13 points and Toumani Camara adding another 10. Elijah Weaver returned to action tonight after missing the previous four games, contributing seven points. Walk-on redshirt sophomore Drew Swerlein scored his first career basket in the final minutes of the game.  Senior Christian Wilson scored his first three pointer of the season.
 

GAME BREAKDOWN

1st Half: Dayton 35, Duquesne 24

• DaRon Holmes II started the game off strong, winning the tip and then converting on the first possession with a lay-up. 
• At the first media time out, the Flyers led 8-5 over the Dukes, converting their first four shots. 
• The Dukes came out of the media timeout with a 7-0 run and took their first lead of the game with 13:01 left in the half.
• Elijah Weaver and Koby Brea provided a spark off the bench, Brea knocked down a triple and on the following possession Weaver took a charge helping ignite UD Arena.
• The Flyers retook the lead 16-15 with 11:26 remaining as Malachi Smith found Weaver in the corner for a three.
• RJ Blakney helped the Flyers regain the lead with a 4-0 run of his own heading into the under eight media timeout. The Flyers led 22-19 with 7:13 remaining in the half.
• That run continued out of the break as Moulaye Sissoko contributed four points putting Dayton on an 8-0 run.
• A Kobe Elvis three followed by a Sissoko two, forced the Dukes into a timeout as the Flyers gained their largest lead to that point (10). 
• Toumani Camara closed out the first half with a lay-up and extended the Flyer lead to 11.
   

2nd Half: Dayton 75, Duquesne 54

• The Flyers came out of the half strong on defense making five fastbreak points, a dunk by Camara and a three by Elvis, both on assists by Smith. 
• Over the first four minutes of the half the Flyers shot four of five from the field and extended their lead to 18, forcing a Duquesne timeout with 16:32 to play.
• The strong defense continued for the Flyers as they held the Dukes scoreless for 4:35, during this time the Flyers had a 14-0 run increasing their lead to 53-26.
• Holmes, Camara, Elvis, and Brea all contributed to the run, going a perfect seven-for-seven from the field. 
• At the under 12 media timeout, Dayton led Duquesne 56-30 shooting 63% so far in the game.
• Elvis continued his hot night shooting as he buried a triple to extend the Flyer lead to 30 with 10:35 remaining. 
• The Dukes were able to cut the lead down to 23 but a bucket by Weaver pushed the lead back to 25 with 5:40 remaining. 
• With 4:33 remaining Zimi Nwokeji and Kaleb Washington entered the contest for the first time as the Flyers led by 20.
• Baskets by walk-ons Christian Wilson, a triple from deep, and a tough two by Drew Swerlein, put the game completely out of reach.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kobe Elvis led the way with 13 points on 5-6 shooting adding three triples and Camara contributed another 10 points on 5-7 shooting.
• Mustapha Amzil led the way on the glass with a total of seven boards, three offensively and four defensively.
• Malachi Smith led the helm dishing out eight assists, also contributing seven points and four boards.
• Dayton shot 60% from the field going 33 of 55 compared to the Dukes 40% on 21-52 shooting.
• UD shot 7-of-13 from behind the arc (54%) as Elvis and Brea led the way combining for five total threes.
• 11 of the 13 players who saw action tonight scored and the bench added 30 points.  No Dayton player played more than 28 minutes in the contest.
• Elijah Weaver returned after four games, adding seven points.
• Dayton dominated the paint scoring 50 points inside, nearly doubling the Dukes total (26). 
• The Flyers forced 11 turnovers and converted those turnovers into 15 points.  
   

UP NEXT

• The Flyers will continue the home stand as they take on George Washington at UD Arena on Saturday, Feb., 12 at 2 p.m. ET.
• The game will be televised on Spectrum News 1.
• UD will then head on the road to Ryan Center to take on Rhode Island Monday, Feb. 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS