» RELATED: Extra shooting workout helps Darrell Davis
Dayton, which lost 69-54 Tuesday at Saint Mary’s, closed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 6-6 record and gets time off for Christmas before beginning the Atlantic 10 Conference gauntlet Dec. 30 at Duquesne.
“For us to come back home and bounce back and go into the break with a win is a good feeling,” sophomore guard Trey Landers said.
Here are five takeaways from Dayton’s 12th game:
Darrell Davis highlights from first six minutes. pic.twitter.com/RasV0usqIw
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 23, 2017
1. Late surge: Wagner (7-4) trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and faced a 41-23 halftime deficit. Dayton had a 22-point lead with 10 minutes left in the second half. Then Wagner put on the full-court pressure defense and started making shots.
The Seahawks still trailed 67-50 with 7:15 to go but went on a 15-4 run, cutting Dayton’s lead to 71-65 at the 3:18 mark. In the final three minutes, Dayton’s John Crosby made 4 of 4 free throws, and Trey Landers made 2 of 2, sealing the victory.
Dayton committed eight of its 17 turnovers in the second half but none in the last three minutes.
“I thought our guys were able to regroup and come up with stops,” UD coach Anthony Grant said. “It was great to see us take care of the ball down the stretch, knock down our free throws and preserve the win.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
2. Fast start: Darrell Davis made his first five shots and scored 14 of Dayton's first 18 points. He finished with 17 points after being held scoreless on 0-of-11 shooting at Saint Mary's. Dayton led 20-5 eight minutes into the game.
“It was great to see,” Grant said. “I was really happy he came out aggressive right from the jump. He and I had a chance to talk and look at the results from the other day. He certainly didn’t have the results our team or he wanted, but everything you learn from.”
3. Strong performance: Landers made 10 of 12 free throws and tied his career high with 14 points.
“He’s doing really good,” Grant said. “We’ve challenged him in terms of what he needs to provide for our team on a consistent basis. It was great to see. He played a really good game from a defensive standpoint in terms of his assignment. He got some big rebounds down the stretch. It was great to see him go to the line and convert like he did.”
Dayton back to .500 at 6-6 with 79-67 victory over Wagner. pic.twitter.com/cjsnT3khLI
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 23, 2017
4. Defensive effort: Dayton held Wagner to 28 percent shooting in the first half. Wagner shot 45.7 percent in the second half.
Wagner’s top scorer, Blake Francis, who averages 18.9 points, made 1 of 6 shots in the first half but 8 of 15 in the second, finishing with 24 points. He scored 15 points in the last 10 minutes.
“I thought we did a really good job (against Francis in the first half),” Grant said. “He made the one 3 in the first half. We knew in the second half he was going to come out and start firing.”
Kostas Antetokounmpo with his best Grant Hill impression, going way up to get this alley-oop pass from Jalen Crutcher. Dayton leads Wagner 43-21 at halftime. pic.twitter.com/eudtVE8EEj
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 23, 2017
5. Seeking identity: Grant called his team a work in progress when he was asked after the game if the Flyers have found an identity.
“I think we’re getting there,” Grant said. “I think the guys are beginning to understand what the expectations are, what their roles are, what we need. Now we just need to put it together with stretches and be more consistent when we sub and with the beginnings and endings of the first half, second half, how we start.
“I think the last couple of games we’ve gotten off to better starts. I thought we finished the half better today. We still have those lulls where I really can’t put a finger on it. But there were stretches today where we looked really good, and there were stretches where we couldn’t get stops, we couldn’t get rebounds, we couldn’t run offense. We’ve just got to be more consistent as a basketball team with that. If I could figure out that formula, I would have solved it by now.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Duquesne, 4 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, FM 95.7, AM 1290 WHIO
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