Dayton won with a seven-man, injury-decimated rotation and avoided an 0-2 start in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Flyers (5-2, 1-1) bounced back from a 67-65 loss Wednesday to La Salle. George Mason fell to 5-3 and 1-1.
Dayton led by as many as 18 points in the first half and extended a nine-point halftime lead to 41-29 on a 3-pointer by Crutcher on the first possession of the second half. George Mason then ran off 15 straight points.
Dayton trailed by as many as five points twice in the second half. It took a 61-59 lead on a 3-pointer by Mustapha Amzil with 4:23 to play. The game was tied at 63-63 when Crutcher assisted Ibi Watson on a layup with 2:16 to play.
» PREVIOUS GAME: Flyers take one on the chin against La Salle
Crutcher scored on the next possession to extend the lead to 67-63. A dunk by Watson with 39 seconds to play gave Dayton a four-point advantage.
Crutcher then made five free throws in the final 30 seconds as George Mason coach Dave Paulsen was hit with two technical fouls and ejected. Dayton outscored George Mason 9-2 in the final two minutes.
Watson scored 16 points for Dayton. Amzil scored 15. Zimi Nwokeji scored the first seven points of his career, making two 3-pointers in the second half. He also had six rebounds.
HALFTIME RECAP
Crutcher scored 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting to lead the Dayton Flyers to a 38-29 halftime lead. Dayton matched its season high for points in the first half.
Amzil, making his second start, scored 10 points in the half. Watson had nine points. Nwokeji scored his first career point by making 1 of 2 free throws.
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The game was tied at 10-10 when Dayton took the lead with a 5-0 run. The Flyers stretched their advantage to as many as 18 points, 32-14 with 4:23 left. George Mason ended the half with a 15-6 run.
Dayton shot 63 percent from the field and held George Mason to 44 percent shooting.
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