Flyers feed off their defense in latest victory

Dayton improves to 20-5 with rout of Saint Louis

A Saint Louis fan looked at the bright side Tuesday at Chaifetz Arena, shouting to players on the Dayton Flyers bench, “We outscored you in the second half.”

For what it's worth, the Billikens did win the second half 46-44. However, the Flyers won the game 85-63 — and it wasn't quite that close. Dayton led 41-17 at halftime and pushed its lead to as many as 36 points midway through the second half.

At that point, everyone in the arena — fans, coaches, players, you name it — was ready to move on to the next game. The guys sitting courtside dressed as Stormtroopers from “Star Wars” had not been this depressed since losing to the rebels in “Return of the Jedi.”

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Dayton looked like a team in peak form, even considering the quality of the opponent, on both sides of the ball. The Flyers (20-5, 11-2) beat Saint Louis (9-17, 4-9) for the seventh straight time and swept the season series by a total of 43 points.

“The first game we played them, I thought it was a little fool’s gold,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “I don’t think we defended them as well as we possibly could have, and I think they missed some good looks. We watched a lot of film with the guys, and our approach was to set the tone with some pressure and really get up after them. I thought the first eight to 12 minutes, our defense got us going.”

Dayton started the game with its most effective group. Xeyrius Williams replaced Ryan Mikesell and joined the four seniors in the starting lineup.

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Mikesell and Josh Cunningham entered the game three minutes into the first half, replacing Williams and Kendall Pollard. Kyle Davis and John Crosby were the next subs off the bench, taking the spots of Scoochie Smith and Darrell Davis.

Cunningham saw his first extended action since tearing a ligament in his ankle on Nov. 15. If this game is any indication, Cunningham will take most of Sam Miller's minutes. Miller didn't enter the game until 1:35 remained in the first half. The Flyers led 39-17 at that point.

With its full rotation available at last, Dayton played one of its best games. It held Saint Louis to 25 percent shooting in the first half. The Billikens shot much better in the second half (51.9) but came nowhere close to matching their 61.4 percent shooting in the previous game against Duquesne.

In two games against Dayton, Saint Louis shot 32.7 percent from the floor.

"They jumped on us from the beginning and set the tone early," Saint Louis coach Travis Ford told the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch after the game. "We never responded, never made a run, never got comfortable. They're a physical, aggressive team and took care of business. We had a little bit of a blank stare early, but that has a little to do with their pressure. We need to burn this film and move on."

Dayton was just as dominant on offense. It shot 57.1 percent from the field, its third-best performance of the season, and made 9 of 18 3-pointers, tying for its fourth-best effort from long range.

Among the key developments was improved play from backup point guard John Crosby, who had three assists, two turnovers and five points in 18 minutes. It’s the first time Crosby had more assists than turnovers since Jan. 3 at St. Bonaventure.

“We’re just harping on John to do thing simple,” Miller said. “I think John is a much better player than he’s played for us, and if he can do what he did tonight for us, that’s good. It starts in practice. He always has a good approach, and I think the big thing for him is to stay with that approach.”


SATURDAY’S GAME

St. Bonaventure at Dayton, 2 p.m., NBC Sports Network, FM 95.7, AM 1290 WHIO

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