DAVIDSON, NC — The Dayton Flyers began Atlantic 10 play Wednesday night with a 72-59 win at Davidson at Belk Arena in Davidson, NC.
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DaRon Holmes II led all scorers with 18 points, including 15 in the second half. He was one of three UD players in double figures.
Kobe Elvis scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half while Nate Santos added 16.
Enoch Cheeks grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds while the Flyers had 12 steals, including four from Cheeks.
Dayton improves to 11-2 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic 10. They have now won eight straight games.
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UD never trailed the Wildcats Wednesday night. They opened the scoring with a Javon Bennett-to-Holmes alley-oop for the second straight game and Elvis’ three-pointer put them ahead, 6-0.
The Wildcats cut it to 8-7 but UD went on an 11-0 run, the last five came from Isaac Jack who extended it to 18-7 with 10:22 left in the first half.
Davidson cut the Flyer advantage to 18-12 on a jumper by Connor Kochera, but never got closer.
Santos buried a trey and Koby Brea’s jumper increased it to 23-12. Bennett’s steal led to an Elvis layup that pushed the advantage to 25-12 with 6:55 remaining until halftime.
Dayton maintained a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the first half as they led, 36-21, at the break.
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UD extended the advantage to as much as 19 points twice in the second half, including 55-36, with 11:40 to play.
The Wildcats scored seven straight points to get within 13 points, 55-42. But Elvis buried a three to increase it to 58-42.
The Flyers got back-to-back steals and dunks by Cheeks and Holmes that put them up, 65-47, with 4:31 remaining.
Davidson tallied seven straight points again in less than a minute to cut it 65-54. But Holmes scored six of Dayton’s last seven points to seal the win.
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The Flyers’ next game will be Sunday afternoon, January 7, when they host UMass at 1 p.m. at the UD Arena.
Pregame coverage on 95.7 FM, WHIO Radio begins at noon.