Dayton basketball: Saint Louis hands Flyers most lopsided loss of Grant’s tenure

Dayton gives up 100 points for first time this century
Robbie Avila, of Saint Louis, makes a 3-pointer against Dayton on the first possession of the game on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Robbie Avila, of Saint Louis, makes a 3-pointer against Dayton on the first possession of the game on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo. David Jablonski/Staff

ST. LOUIS — The Dayton Flyers suffered their most lopsided loss of coach Anthony Grant’s nine seasons, falling 102-71 to No. 21 Saint Louis on Friday at Chaifetz Arena.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (14-8, 5-4) suffered its fourth straight loss. It’s the first four-game losing streak for the program since January 2014.

This was Dayton’s most lopsided loss since a 68-34 loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 27, 2010.

Dayton’s previous worst loss of the Grant era was a 77-49 defeat at Virginia Tech on Dec. 7, 2022. That was Dayton’s most lopsided loss since a 90-61 loss to Xavier in the championship game of the Advocare Invitational in 2015.

Dayton gave up 100 or more points for the first time since a 100-90 loss to George Washington in 1999. This was the highest score allowed by Dayton since a 102-95 loss to Xavier in 1996.

This was Dayton’s worst loss to Saint Louis since an 82-39 loss at UD Arena in 1995.

Saint Louis (21-1, 9-0) won its 15th straight game and ended a four-game losing streak in the series. The Billikens are halfway to becoming the first team to finish 18-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference since Dayton in 2020.

Stars of the game: Trey Green, of Saint Louis, scored 23 points for Saint Louis. He made 7 of 10 3-pointers.

De’Shayne Montgomery scored 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting for Dayton.

Stat of the game: Saint Louis shot a season-best 61% (17 of 28) from 3-point range. Dayton shot 35% (7 of 20).

Key moment: Dayton trimmed a 17-point halftime deficit to 10 points four minutes into the second half. Saint Louis responded with a 12-0 run and dominated the rest of the game.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays St. Bonaventure (13-8, 2-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena.

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and faced a 46-29 halftime deficit.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Green led all scorers with 14 points. He made 4 of 5 3-pointers.

Javon Bennett and Montgomery each scored seven points for Dayton.

Key stat: Saint Louis made 7 of 11 3-pointers (64%). Dayton made 2 of 8 (25%).

Fast start: Saint Louis made its first three shots and led Dayton 8-0 two minutes into the game.

Injury news: Dayton’s Jordan Derkack returned to action after missing four games with a lower-body injury. He had two points in eight minutes.

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