Four of the starters left the game with 7 minutes, 54 seconds to play. Montgomery, who led Dayton with 17 points, joined them at the 5:44 mark.
From that point forward, Dayton slowed the pace and let the reserves and then the walk-ons finish the game. The result was a smaller blowout but still a lopsided result — a 74-55 victory against the second lowest-ranked team on Dayton’s schedule.
North Carolina Central (2-5), which ranks 344th in the Ken Pomeroy ratings, fell to 0-5 against Division I teams.
“Coach was preaching to us that this is one of the games we need coming off a big game like Marquette,” Montgomery said. “We can’t just play lackadaisical. I feel like we did a good job coming out with strong energy.”
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 30th straight non-conference home victory:
1: The bench once again produced for Dayton: The Flyers reserves outscored the Eagles bench 33-10. Dayton had a smaller edge, 20-16, in a 77-71 overtime victory against Marquette in its previous game Wednesday.
“I thought overall today our guys did a good job of understanding the opportunity in front of us and taking advantage of it,” coach Anthony Grant said. “I thought we got good play from the bench again. It was good to see guys come in and be ready for the opportunity.”
Both performances by the bench boost hope that the reserves can play valuable roles this season. Dayton’s bench was outscored by Maryland-Baltimore County, Bethune-Cookman and Cincinnati in a three-game stretch before these two games.
Malcolm Thomas led the UD reserves with a season-high 12 points, making 3 of 6 field goals and 6 of 8 free throws.
“I’m just trying to stay focused,” Thomas said. “Coach keeps telling me to wait my turn and be ready when it comes, and that’s what I did.”
Jacob Conner made 2 of 4 3-pointers and scored 10 points. He also made two 3s against Marquette.It’s the first time in his two seasons at Dayton he has made multiple 3s in back-to-back games.
“He’s been really good,” Grant said. “We’re kind of using him in a variety of different ways. (Today) he got some extended minutes handling the ball and running the team. He got some of those the other night, too. It’s all about trying to figure out how we can best position our guys to be the best versions of themselves and help the team the best. Jacob’s a versatile guy with a high IQ. He understands what we’re trying to do. You can play him at multiple positions. As he finds his rhythm, we have a lot of confidence in what he can bring to the team.”
Bryce Heard added a season-high eight points. He made 2 of 4 3-pointers after missing all 10 of his attempts in the first five games.
Credit: David Jablonski
2: Dayton matched its most dominant half of the season: The Flyers outscored Canisius by 24 points (51-27) in the season opener Nov. 3 and had the same margin 44-20 against North Carolina Central.
Javon Bennett’s alley-oop pass off the backboard on the fast break to Montgomery was one highlight for Dayton in the first half.
“I was expecting it, but I wasn’t expecting it that late,” Montgomery said. “I thought he was going to throw it a little earlier so I could take off on one foot, because I’m really a one-foot jumper. So he caught me off guard.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Dayton took care of the basketball: The Flyers committed only three turnovers in the first half after having 16 in the first half against Marquette. They finished with seven turnovers, ending a three-game run in which they averaged 17.
“The other day, we had 25 turnovers,” Grant said, “and I think that ended up being a little over 25% of our possessions where we didn’t get a shot at the rim. Our guys understand how critical it is that we give ourselves an opportunity. We feel like we can be really efficient when we get shots. The other day, when we did shoot the ball, I think our effective field-goal percentage was about 60%.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Dayton vs. Georgetown
What: First round of ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday.
Streaming: ESPN2.
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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