By Malcolm Price

1 21 2025

Senior Enoch Cheeks Scored 23 Points To Lead The Flyers

PITTSBURGH – The University of Dayton men’s basketball offense was firing on all cylinders on Tuesday night, putting together a dominant performance from behind the arc to take down Duquesne 82-62 at UMPC Cooper Fieldhouse.

The Flyers connected on nine threes in the first half to build a 19-point halftime lead and never looked back, never trailing in the contest. Dayton shot 58% (32 for 55) overall from the floor and 56.5% (13 for 23) from behind the arc.

Redshirt senior Enoch Cheeks continued his recent scoring hot streak, finishing with a game-high 23 points. Junior Javon Bennett had 16 of his own, while freshman
Amaël L’Etang chipped in a career-high 16 as well. Redshirt junior Malachi Smith finished the night with nine assists, while Cheeks, Nate Santos and Isaac Jack all led the team in rebounding with six each.

Dayton’s win marks the 300th Atlantic 10 win in program history in the Flyers’ 30th season in the league. It was also UD’s first road victory of the season and Duquesne’s first home A-10 loss.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 44, Duquesne 25

• Junior Javon Bennett connected from downtown to put Dayton ahead from the first possession.
• After the two teams traded three-pointers over the first eight minutes of play, UD got a pair of three-pointers from Enoch Cheeks to go ahead for good.
• The Flyers boosted their lead to nine when Jacob Conner knocked down a three to make it 20-11.
• Cheeks converted an and-one at 7:58 and Nate Santos pushed the lead into double-digits with a pull-up jumper at 7:16.
• Dayton’s lead swelled to 15 by the under 4:00 timeout thanks to a layup by Bennett, starting a run of seven straight Flyer points for the junior.
• Redshirt junior Malachi Smith pushed UD’s lead to 19 by knocking down three free throw attempts at the end of the half to make it 44-25.

Second Half – Dayton 82, Duquesne 62

• Much like the first half, Javon Bennett buried a three for Dayton’s first points of the second stanza.
• Junior Isaac Jack joined in the fun by scoring six straight points for the Flyers.
• UD’s advantage ballooned to its largest of the game at the 9:49 mark when the Flyers led by 30, 66-36.
• Enoch Cheeks rattled dunks for back-to-back Dayton baskets that made the score 70-45 with 5:38 remaining.
• Amaël L’Etang put the exclamation point on a great night for the freshman with a dunk at 4:40.
• Cheeks’ last basket of the night came at the 3:37 mark on Malachi Smith’s ninth assist.
• Redshirt freshman Jaiun Simon put the finishing touches on the contest with a dunk in the final minute to bring the game to its final score.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.582 – Dayton’s shooting percentage in the contest, a new high for the 2024-25 season
.565 – three-point percentage for the Flyers, their second-best of the season
300 – Atlantic 10 wins for UD in its 30th season in the league
36 – paint points for the Flyers, out-pacing the Dukes 36-22
16 – points for Amaël L’Etang a new career high
5 – 20+ point performances for Enoch Cheeks on the season, including in back-to-back games
4 – games with nine or more assists this season for Malachi Smith

UP NEXT
• Dayton will host Saint Joseph’s on Friday, Jan 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
• That is the first of three consecutive appearances (and five overall this season) on the Atlantic 10’s Friday Night Showcase on ESPN.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS