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Senior Kendall Pollard has been among the most improved shooters at the foul line. He made 7 of 9 Tuesday in a 77-70 victory over St. Joseph's at UD Arena. He's shooting 56.7 percent from the line in his career but 67.4 percent this season and 72.7 percent in the last six games (32 of 44).
Archie Miller and the players have attributed the improvement to free-throw competitions in practice.
“Nobody likes to lose,” Pollard said Tuesday. “You go out there and take your time and make as many as you can. Everybody goes up against somebody. I think Darrell (Davis) has been in first place since we started. He’s the champ. I’m in sixth place.”
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Dayton is still a below-average team at the line. It’s season percentage ranks eighth out of 14 teams in the A-10. However, if it can continue the upward trend, that would be a big boost in close games down the stretch.
Pollard ranks 70th in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.4). He’s always been good at that. Making the free throws has been a struggle.
“He’s worked hard on it,” Miller said. “Our team has worked hard on it. We’ve changed the complexion of our game a little bit with those. He knows he’s going to get fouled. He had nine more attempts tonight. He’s always got to the line. He’s done a much better job of going through his routine and knocking them in.”
At 18-5 and 9-2 in the A-10, the Flyers have a half-game lead over Virginia Commonwealth (18-5, 8-2), which plays at George Washington at 9 p.m. tonight.
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