Dayton basketball: Dayton wins at George Mason for first time in six years

What it means: Dayton (17-9, 8-5) ended a four-game losing streak in the series with George Mason and won at EagleBank Arena for the first time since 2020.

Dayton opened Atlantic 10 Conference play with road victories at Loyola Chicago and Duquesne but had since lost at La Salle, Saint Joseph’s, Saint Louis and Virginia Commonwealth.

Dayton remained tied for fourth place with Duquesne (16-10, 8-5), which won 62-61 at home against La Salle on Wednesday, and Saint Joseph’s (16-10, 7-5), which won 71-65 at St. Bonaventure.

George Mason (21-6, 9-5) suffered its third straight loss and fourth loss in five games. It has a half-game lead over the three teams tied for fourth.

George Mason fell to 15-2 at home this season. It had won 15 of its last 16 A-10 home games before this loss.

Stars of the game: Javon Bennett scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Dayton, and Amaël L’Etang scored a career-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting.

Stat of the game: Dayton shot 52% (11 of 21) from 3-point range. That’s its second-best percentage of the season. It shot 57.9% (11 of 19) against Bethune Cookman on Nov. 19. Bennett made 5 of 9 3-pointers.

George Mason shot 50% (7 of 14).

Key moment: George Mason cut a seven-point halftime deficit to 43-38 with the first basket of the second half. Dayton answered with back-to-back 3-point possessions. L’Etang made a 3-pointer. De’Shayne Montgomery followed with a 3-point play.

Dayton soon pushed its lead to double digits and coasted the rest of the way.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Duquesne at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena.

HALFTIME RECAP

Bennett dribbled the length of the court to score on a layup at the final buzzer in the first half to give the Dayton Flyers a 43-36 halftime lead against George Mason.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: L’Etang scored baskets on Dayton’s first two possessions and later had a 3-point play and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions. He scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the half.

Bennett made 4 of 6 3s and scored 11 points. He picked two fouls in the first five minutes but returned to the court after two straight turnovers by Sean Pouedet.

Jahari Long scored 11 points for George Mason on 4-of-8 shooting.

Key stat: Dayton shot 56% (15 of 27) from the field and made 5 of 9 3s. George Mason shot 44% (12 of 27) and made 5 of 8 3s.

Big run: Dayton opened the game with an 11-3 run. The Flyers led the rest of the half and had a lead as large as eight points.

Lineup news: For the second straight game, Dayton had no surprise players on the availability list.