Ibi Watson & Jalen Crutcher Combine For 37 Of UD’s 72 Points

DAYTON – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team (7-3, 3-2 A-10) defeated Duquesne University (3-4, 2-3 A-10) Wednesday night at UD Arena, 72-63.

Redshirt senior Ibi Watson led the Flyers with 19 points, knocking down four threes in the contest while also picking up five rebounds. Senior Jalen Crutcher added 18 points while tallying five rebounds and freshman Mustapha Amzil also reached double figures, picking up 11 points and a career-high eight rebounds.

GAME BREAKDOWN

1st half: Duquesne 34, Dayton 33

·         Graduate student Jordy Tshimanga put the Flyers on the board with a basket on the first offensive possession with an assist from Watson.

·         Duquesne responded with a 10-0 scoring run over a span of over three minutes before Watson hit a three with 16:05 remaining in the half.

·         Dayton closed the gap and brought the deficit down to four, 16-12, at the under-12 timeout behind seven points from Crutcher.

·         Crutcher gave the Flyers a 19-18 lead on a layup with 9:47 remaining in the half. Crutcher and Watson scored 17 of the team’s first 19 points.

·         Amzil scored nine of the Flyers final 13 points in the half, but Duquesne held the 34-33 advantage.

2nd half: Dayton 72, Duquesne 63

·         Dayton opened the half on an 11-2 run spanning the first 4:56 behind two threes from Watson, taking a 44-36 lead.

·         After Duquesne cut the lead to four, Dayton went on a 15-1 run, extending its advantage to 59-41 with 9:31 left to play. Five different Flyers scoring during the span.

·         The Dukes cut the lead to 61-50 using a 9-2 run, but the Flyers scored four unanswered points leading 65-50 at the under-4 timeout.

·         Another 9-2 run by Duquesne cut Dayton’s lead to single-digits at 67-59 with 1:26 remaining.

·         Dayton made 12 of 14 free throws, sinking the final five to clinch the victory, 72-63.

·         The Flyers defense held Duquesne scoreless from behind the three-point line, with the Dukes going 0-7 from three in the second half.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

·         Seven different Flyers scored in the contest, with three reaching double figures

·         Tshimanga led the Flyers with nine rebounds. It marked his sixth game of the season recording at least eight rebounds.

·         Watson scored 19 points to lead the Flyers. The redshirt senior has led Dayton in scoring in four games this season.

·         Dayton shot a season-high 41.7 percent from behind the three-point line as a team.

·         Elijah Weaver led the Flyers with six assists.

UP NEXT

·         The Flyers will hit the road, taking on George Washington at the campus of George Mason on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

·         Dayton’s next home game will also be against GW, on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

GAME RECAP COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS