By Stretch Jenkinson

1/12/2024

BOX SCORE

https://daytonflyers.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=16404

DaRon Holmes II Leads With 33-Point, 12-Rebound Double-Double

PITTSBURGH – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team won its 10th straight game and improved to 3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference  Friday night with a 72-62 win at Duquesne.

DaRon Holmes led the way with 33 points and 12 rebounds.  It was his 20th collegiate double-double, and the third this season, all coming in the last seven game.  He made 12 of 18 shots )including three-of-five from beyond the arc) and six of eight free throws.

Holmes didn’t just fill the stat sheet, he did it when it was needed most. After the home team cut a Dayton 14-point lead to four halfway through the second half, he scored 14 of the next 16 Flyer points, pushing the lead back out to 14 (61-47 with 4:01 left in the game).

UD is 13-2 overall.  Duquesne is 9-6.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 31, Duquesne 21
•    DaRon Holmes II got Dayton on the board by grabbing an offensive rebound and laying it back up.
•    UD needed 96 seconds to score the first five points of the game.
•    After the Dukes scored a bucket, the Flyers scored the next eight to lead 13-2 with 14:43 left in the half.
•    A Duquesne burst made it a five-point game (19-14) with 7:13 to go.
•    Dayton got it back to 10 (29-19) at the 1:57 mark.
•    After a Duke bucket, Holmes ended the half the way he started it, with an offensive rebound and put-back.
Second Half – Dayton 72, Duquesne 62
•    An Enoch Cheeks free throw gave the Flyers a 43-29 lead, the home team went on a 12-2 run.
•    Dayton got three straight stops (Isaac Jack block, Nate Santos steal and Koby Brea defensive rebound) and then Holmes went to work.
•    He hit a three, scored a reverse dunk, an and-one, and another three in a four-minute and 15-second stretch.
•    With Duquesne overplaying another post feed to Holmes, Javon Bennett hits a layup in the lane, and then Holmes nailed another three to put Dayton back up 14 (61-47) with 4:08 left in the game.
•    The Dukes were able to get it back to within eight twice in the final 1:21, but the Flyers answered with points right away both times.
•    UD drained six free throws in the final 68 seconds.

BY THE NUMBERS
•    30 – DaRon Holmes II had his double-double of 33 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of play.
•    18 — Holmes scored his 33 points (one off his career high) while taking just 18 shots.
•    5 – Five other Flyers scored at least six points in the game:  Nate Santos and Javon Bennett each had nine, Enoch Cheeks added eight, and Koby Brea and Isaac Jack each tallied six.
•    6 – Bennett led UD with six assists.  He was also a team-best +19.
•    2 – Isaac Jack had two blocked shots and two steals at the defensive end.
•    39 – Dayton out-rebounded Duquesne 39-27.
•    0:00 –UD did not trail in the game.  In fact, the Flyers have not trailed in any of their three A-10 games.

UP NEXT
•    Dayton is back home for the first of two home games next week.
•    UD hosts Saint Louis on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
•    Game time is 8 p.m. ET.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS