By Chris Garvin

Anthony Grant UD BKB coach Postgame 1 16 2024 UD 70 St. Louis 65.mp3

1/16/2024

BOX SCORE

https://daytonflyers.com/documents/2024/1/16/UD_MBB_vs_SLU.PDF

DAYTON  – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team won its 11th straight game and improved to 4-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tuesday night with a 70-65 win against rival Saint Louis.

DaRon Holmes II led the way with 29 points and 14 rebounds.  It was his 21st collegiate double-double, and the fourth this season, all coming in the last eight games. Enoch Cheeks and Koby Brea lead the way from beyond the arc contributing two and three three’s respectively.

UD is 14-2 overall.  SLU is 8-9.

GAME RECAP

First Half – Saint Louis 30, Dayton 28

•  After a strong opening defensive possession by the Flyers, Javon Bennett started the scoring as he converted one of two free throws.
  •    The Flyer defense continued to cause issues for the Billikens as they held them scoreless for the first four minutes of the game.
  •    At the 15:35 mark Nate Santos made his first field goal of the game as he grabbed an offensive rebound and finished at the rim which extended the Flyers lead to five (7-2).
  •    Following the first media timeout, Kobe Brea checked into the game and found Enoch Cheeks in the corner for Dayton’s first three-point field goal of the night.
  •    Brea continued to make his impact felt as he buried another three-pointer for the Flyers giving them a 13-6 lead with 13:11 remaining in the first half. 
  •    To widen the gap, Cheeks scored his second three from the corner off another Brea assist with 11:35 remaining, which extended the lead to eight.
  •    For the first time in the Flyers four A-10 games, an opponent took the lead, as the Billikens lead 19-17 with 7:45 remaining.
  •    After a 4:54 scoring drought by the Flyers, and a 15-1 run for the Billikens, Bennett ended the drought as he hit a three, assisted by Daron Holmes II, as the Flyers trailed 23-19 with 4:43 remaining.
  •    At the 3:27 mark the Flyer offense continued to struggle as they trailed 25-21.
  •    A big rebound by Holmes led to Kobe Elvis striking with a two-point shot, as they continued to trail the Billikens 23-25 with three minutes remaining.
  •   Elvis continued to have the hot hand and after a beautiful step back three, Dayton regained the lead 26-25 which brought the Flyer Faithful to their feet. Second Half – Dayton 70, Saint Louis 65
•  Flyers struck first, 11 seconds into the second half, Holmes with the slam dunk, with an assist from Elvis.
  •    At the 18:18 mark, Holmes gave the Flyers their first lead of the second half as he grabbed a loose ball in the corner and buried a triple, 33-32.
  •    Bennett found Holmes for the alley-oop, as the Flyers took the lead back 35-34 with 17 minutes remaining.  Dayton would not trail the rest of the night.
  •    Bennett got the crowd roaring again with a  strong finish at the hoop which carried the Flyers to a 37-34 lead.
  •    Billikens tied it up with a three-point shot from the deep corner 37-37 with 16:21 left.
  •    Elvis made his way to the free throw line on two straight possessions and converted three of his four attempts to give the Flyers a 40-37 lead.
  •    The first two gave Elvis 37 straight free throws over 16 games, breaking the previous record of 36 held by Damon Goodwin and Darrell Davis.  He missed the third, but made the fourth.
  •    Isaac Jack entered the game and made one of two free throws to expand the Flyers lead 42-37.
  •    With 12 minutes to play, Bennett found Brea in the corner for a triple as Dayton led 47-39.
  •    At the 10:24 mark, Holmes grabbed his tenth board of the night marking another career double-double.
  •    At the under-eight media timeout, the Flyers led 50-45.
  •    Holmes made two of two free throw shots 53-47 with 5:40 remaining.
  •    Holmes stole the ball and went coast to coast for a two-handed dunk which sent the Arena into a frenzy. The Flyers continued to lead at 58-47.
  •    Holmes continued to assert himself as he scored  all 13 Flyer points from 5:57 left to the 2:07 mark.  The Flyers led 65-57.
  •    SLU drained a three to make it 65-60 with 1:13 on the clock, but with 43 seconds to play (and two seconds on the shot clock) Brea iced the game as he buried a deep three.
  •    Holmes ended the game with another dunk. The Flyers won 70-65.

BY THE NUMBERS

• 29 –DaRon Holmes IIscored 29 points on 9-13 shooting
  • 25 – 25 of Holmes’s 29 points came in the second half
  • 2nd – Holmes had his second “Triple DaRon” of the season, with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 10 fouls drawn
  • 2nd – Holmes also blocked four shots
  • 9- Koby Brea and Enoch Cheeks each scored nine  points
  • 32 – Cheeks, Santos, and Holmes combined for 32 rebounds
  • 41 – Dayton outrebounded Saint Louis 41-39.
  • 16- Flyers racked up on the free throws tonight, 10 of which were scored by Holmes
  •  6 – Amount of lead changes
  • 12 – Dayton assisted on 12  of 23 made baskets.  Five players had at least two, led by Kobe Elvis with three.

UP NEXT

•  Dayton is back home as the Flyers host Rhode Island on Saturday, Jan. 20th.
  •    Game time is 12:30 p.m. ET.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS