Dayton brings its own energy in near-empty arena to beat George Washington

“Energy!” said Andy Farrell, the special assistant to head coach Anthony Grant on the bench at one point in the second half. “Energy! Energy!”

Whatever Dayton did worked because it jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed en route to a dominant performance and an 83-58 victory against George Washington (4-9, 0-1). It was just what the Flyers (9-6, 1-1) had to have in their second Atlantic 10 Conference game after a 53-52 loss at home to Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday in their first league game.

“We definitely needed this win to shake off the VCU game,” guard Malachi Smith said.

“It’s definitely a confidence booster,” guard Elijah Weaver said. “We’ve just got to keep it up.”

Smith scored all 13 of his points in the first half and finished 6 of 12 from the field. He added a team-high six assists. Weaver scored all 12 of his points in the second half, making 5 of 7 shots. He scored a total of 14 points in the previous four games.

“This game will help me get back on track,” Weaver said. “I had not really lost it but was going through a little slump.”

Toumani Camara (14 points), DaRon Holmes II (12) and Mustapha Amzil (10) also scored in double figures.

Koby Brea had eight points after scoring 10 points combined in the previous four games. The reserves scored 34 points after tallying three against VCU.

By winning a true road game for the first time this season — its only previous victories away from UD Arena had come on a neutral court in Florida at the ESPN Events Invitational — Dayton avoided its first 0-2 start in the A-10 since it started 0-3 in the 2012-13 season.

Dayton matched its best shooting performance of the season. It shot 58.7 percent against the Miami Hurricanes (27 of 46) and shot 58.7 percent (37 of 63) in this game. It enjoyed its second-best performance from 3-point range, making 8 of 16 shots and hitting 50 percent for the second time this season after not topping 40 percent in the previous six games.

Dayton also had a season-high 22 assists. It had only 10 against Virginia Commonwealth.

“I felt like the guys were trying to share the ball, trying to move it,” Grant said.

Turnovers continue be an issue, however. Dayton had 12 turnovers in the first half for the second straight game and finished with 18. It averages 14.9 turnovers per game.

“All turnovers aren’t created equal,” Grant said. “Some of them were of the aggressive nature. Some of them were of the careless nature that we have to correct and fix. It’s been a challenge for us all year with a young group. Hopefully, we’re learning and understanding what it takes to be as efficient as we possibly can. Today we shot the ball well from 3. Consistently over the course of the season, we’ve been one of the most efficient teams in the country from inside the 3-point line. So when we take care of the basketball, we give ourselves a chance and there’s a good chance something good is going to happen. There’s a patience and an understanding that a young team has to have, and we’re asking our guys to continue to work and continue to get better with it.”

Dayton took control with a 14-0 run early in the first half, turning a 9-7 advantage into a 23-7 lead. It led 38-23 at halftime and never let the Colonials, who were playing their first game since Dec. 13, get closer than 13 points in the second half.

The near-empty arena never seemed to bother the Flyers, though they appreciate the home crowd even more when they play Saint Louis on Tuesday at UD Arena.

“The energy was kind of down, so I feel our team did a good job of bringing the energy,” Smith said.

Weaver remembers all too well what it was like playing in so many empty arenas last season.

“I’ve felt it before, but it was new for the freshmen,” he said. “It was probably a little different.”

TUESDAY’S GAME

Saint Louis at Dayton, 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 1290, 95.7