Archie Miller: ‘Good team effort’ in win over Duquesne

Flyers led by as many as 46 points

Archie Miller liked what he saw in practice Thursday and Friday. The Dayton Flyers were efficient. They weren’t messing around. They got a day of rest Wednesday after beating Fordham on Tuesday on the road and then went to work preparing for a game Saturday against Duquesne at UD Arena.

Dayton’s approach in practice carried over to a 90-53 victory, its most lopsided win of the season. The Flyers might have posted a similar score Jan. 22 against Saint Louis but got sloppy in the second half and won 67-46. That didn’t happen this time.

Even with the starters playing reduced minutes — no one played more than 28 — Dayton managed to win big.

“I thought our guys did a really good job in the second half of approaching it better than the last time against Saint Louis,’ Miller said. “We didn’t let the game get silly with bad shots, lackadaisical play. Guys stayed with it the whole time. It was a good team effort. We’ll take it.”

Cunningham update: Josh Cunningham returned to practice this week and looked "pretty good," Miller said. It sounds more and more as if he will play again this season. It's only a question of when.

“He’s got to get reps in practice (Sunday),” Miller said. “He’s got to get reps Monday. I don’t think he’ll play Tuesday (8 p.m. vs. St. Joseph’s at UD Arena). He’s got to get reps on Wednesday. As we head to Rhode Island (7 p.m. Friday), we’ll see where he’s at. Post Rhode Island, we have six left. After Rhode Island, maybe we’ll test him out.”

Autism awareness: Dayton coaches wore blue puzzle pieces on their suits to support the Autism Speaks campaign. Coaches across the country wore them to raise awareness.

New look: Dr. Willie Morris of the Dayton Pep Band wore a new jacket Saturday with 987 individual lights. He said the jacket was custom made in Korea. He was able to program it so the lights flash different phrases, such as "Go Flyers."

Next week: Dayton plays St. Joseph's (10-11, 3-6) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena and then plays at Rhode Island (15-7, 7-3) at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Hawks played Fordham on Saturday night in Philadelphia. Dayton lost twice to St. Joseph’s last season, once in Philadelphia and once in the A-10 tournament.

Dayton beat Rhode Island 67-64 on Jan. 6. The Rams beat Davidson 70-59 on the road Friday and play at Massachusetts (12-11, 2-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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