The Cup stays in Dayton
Dayton Seniors set win record in blowout
Looking to stay tied atop the conference, Dayton traveled to St. Louis for a battle with the Billikens. Arguably college basketball’s biggest rivalry, the Flyers sought an unprecedented seventh straight Arch Baron Cup win. A victory over St. Louis Tuesday night would not only mark Dayton’s 20th win of the season, but also etch the True Team’s seniors in the record books. Hoping to defeat a struggling rival and become the all-time winningest class in Flyer history, Dayton and its seniors prepared for a fight.
Early on Dayton controlled the action as St. Louis struggled against the Flyer’s dominant defense. Back to back buckets by Josh Cunningham and Charles Cooke gave Dayton a 9–0 lead; forcing a Billiken timeout with 14:32 left in the first half. Continuing to make their presence felt on defense, the Flyer’s opened their lead up to 18–4 with 9:03 to play in the half.
Following the hot start, Dayton showed no signs of cooling down. Back to back and ones by Scoochie Smith and Kyle Davis put the Flyers in front 34–13 with 3:07 left in the first half. Dayton went on to close out the half strong, taking a gigantic 41–17 lead into the break. The Flyers shot 61% from the field and 63% from three in the first half. St. Louis, on the other hand, shot a poor 25% from the field and 11% from three. Archie Miller’s squad also dished out 13 assists compared to the Billiken’s measly two.
Dayton wasted no time extending their lead in the second half. The Flyers picked up right where they left off, taking a 60–27 advantage with 13:31 left. While Dayton cruised to the finish, St. Louis did manage to heat up a little from behind the arc. With 3:44 remaining, the Flyers held a 78–49 lead over the rival Billikens. Dayton went on to defeat St. Louis by a final score of 85–63 as bench players and walk-on Joey Gruden saw some action.
11 Flyers scored in Dayton’s road win over St. Louis Tuesday night. 26 of the Flyer’s 28 buckets came via assists as Dayton shot 57% from the field and 50% from three. Charles Cooke led the way for the Flyers with 18 points as a lot of guys saw good action. Josh Cunningham, Trey Landers, and others all played quality minutes in Dayton’s dominant win.
With the win Dayton improves to 20–5 overall and 11–2 in conference play. The Flyers remain tied with VCU for 1st in the A-10 and continue to build an impressive tournament resume. Picking up the 98th win of their career, Dayton’s seniors became the all-time winningest class in Flyer history on Tuesday night. Dayton will now return home for a Saturday afternoon showdown against St. Bonaventure.
