Dayton bounces back from first loss with victory against Robert Morris

What it means: No. 21 Dayton, which likely will lose its spot in the top 25 on Monday, improved to 3-1 and bounced back from a 60-52 loss Tuesday at UNLV. The Flyers are 3-0 at home.

The score was closer than expected. Robert Morris lost 91-53 at Ohio State in its opener. The Colonials got as close as five points early in the second half and kept trimming the Dayton lead to single digits with timely 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes.

What’s next: The Flyers fly to the Bahamas on Monday and play Wisconsin (3-0) in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday.

Star of the game: DaRon Holmes II scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting for Dayton. He hit the 500-point milestone in his career in the second half four games into his sophomore season.

Double-double: Camara had 14 rebounds and 11 points. It’s his sixth career double-double and first of the season.

Season debut: Malachi Smith had five points on 2-of-8 shooting and three assists in 21 minutes.

Key stat: Dayton’s bench outscored the Robert Morris reserves 15-2. Mustapha Amzil scored in double figures for the third time this season. He had 12 points.

HALFTIME RECAP

Four days after scoring two points in a 60-52 loss at UNLV, Holmes II scored 12 points in the first half to lead UD to a 30-21 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the half:

Top player: Holmes made 1 of 5 field-goal attempts Tuesday and 5 of 5 in the first half Saturday. He scored four of Dayton’s first seven points.

Key stat: Dayton made 5 of 16 3-pointers (31.3%), while Robert Morris made 2 of 8 (25%).

Turnover numbers: Dayton had 24 turnovers against UNLV and seven in the half against Robert Morris.

Roster news: Malachi Smith returned to action after missing Dayton’s first three games and took the place of freshman Mike Sharavjamts in the starting lineup. Smith had two points on 1-of-5 shooting with one assist in 11 minutes in the half.

Rotation update: Sharavjamts and Mustapha Amzil were the first two players off the bench, replacing Smith and R.J. Blakney. Zimi Nwokeji also saw three minutes of action in the first half.

Back in action: Toumani Camara missed the second half against UNLV with a knee injury and returned to action in this game. He had eight rebounds and two points in the half.