Dayton basketball: Flyers can’t escape 25-point hole in loss at La Salle

Explorers hand Dayton its first A-10 loss after five straight victories
La Salle celebrates a victory against Dayton on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at John E. Glaser Arena in Philadelphia. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

La Salle celebrates a victory against Dayton on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at John E. Glaser Arena in Philadelphia. David Jablonski/Staff

PHILADELPHIA — Javon Bennett missed two game-tying 3-pointers in the final eight seconds as the Dayton Flyers fell short of rallying from a 25-point deficit and lost 67-64 to La Salle on Wednesday at John E. Glaser Arena.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (14-5, 5-1) saw a five-game winning streak end and fell out of a group of three teams without an A-10 loss. This ranks as its worst loss of the season. La Salle ranks 236th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool.

Saint Louis and George Mason (both 18-1 overall and 6-0 in the A-10) share first place one third of the way through the 18-game schedule.

La Salle (7-13, 3-4) beat Dayton in Philadelphia for the fifth time in the last seven games. Dayton is 11-12 at La Salle since joining the A-10 in the 1995-96 season.

Stars of the game: Jaeden Marshall led La Salle with 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He scored 23 points in the previous game against St. Bonaventure.

Keonte Jones led Dayton with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Stat of the game: Dayton shot 13% (3 of 23) from 3-point range. It posted its worst percentage since making 2 of 26 (7.7%) in a 74-62 loss at Cincinnati in November.

La Salle shot 32% (7 of 22) from 3-point range.

Key moment: Dayton chipped away at an 11-point halftime deficit throughout the second half but got no closer than one point.

Jones cut the deficit to 65-64 with two free throws with 26 seconds to play. La Salle answered with two free throws to push the lead to 67-64.

Bennett then missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds to play. After a free throw miss by La Salle, Bennett missed another 3 from near halfcourt as time expired. Bennett made 1 of 7 3s and scored 11 points.

Looking ahead: Dayton will stay in Philadelphia until playing Saint Joseph’s (11-8,3 -3) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Hagan Arena.

Dayton's Javon Bennett scores against La Salle on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at John E. Glaser Arena in Philadelphia. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

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Credit: David Jablonski

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton trailed by as many as 25 points in the first half and faced a 40-29 halftime deficit.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Marshall scored 12 points off the bench for La Salle. He made 3 of 3 field goals, including 2 of 2 3-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws.

Javon Bennett led Dayton with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting.

Key stat: La Salle shot 59% (13 of 22) from the field. Dayton shot 46% (11 of 24).

Big run: La Salle used an 18-0 spurt in a five-minute stretch to turn a 15-8 lead into a 33-8 advantage at the 8:52 mark.

Comeback: De’Shayne Montgomery ended the La Salle run with a layup at the 8:03 mark. That started a 7-0 Dayton run.

Dayton outscored La Salle 7-2 in the last three minutes to cut the deficit to 11 points.

Lineup news: Malcolm Thomas returned to action after missing five games with an injury. He had three points in five minutes in the half.

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