Holmes leads Dayton to double-digit victory at Davidson

Flyers have won six straight in series with Wildcats

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

DAVIDSON, N.C. — DaRon Holmes II scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Dayton Flyers to a 69-55 victory against Davidson at Belk Arena on Saturday.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (10-5) won its fifth straight game and improved to 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference with its first victory in a true road game this season. It beat Davidson (8-6, 1-1) for the sixth straight time and won its fourth straight game at Belk Arena.

Star of the game: Holmes made 11 of 14 field goals and 9 of 13 free throws. He’s the first Flyer to score 30 points in a game since Obi Toppin had 31 against North Florida on Dec. 30, 2019. Holmes’ previous career high of 28 points came against Massachusetts in the A-10 tournament last season.

Holmes also had 10 rebounds and four assists.

Stat of the game: Dayton went more than eight minutes without a field goal to start the second half but scored seven points at the foul line in that span. Dayton outscored Davidson 21-9 at the line.

Turning point: Dayton never trailed during the game, but Davidson rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to tie the game at 47-47 at the 11:12 mark. Dayton regained the lead on two free throws by Toumani Camara at the 10:42 mark. Dayton outscored Davidson 16-6 in the last eight minutes.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Saint Joseph’s at 7 p.m. Wednesday at UD Arena.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Holmes II scored 20 points to carry the Flyers to a 44-33 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key player: Holmes made 8 of 8 field goals, including his only 3-point attempt. He also made all three of his free-throw attempts. He made a jump shot from the baseline on Dayton’s last possession and then looked back at the Davidson bench as he got back on defense.

Key stats: Dayton shot 60.7% (17 of 28) from the field and made 6 of 9 3-pointers. The Flyers had an 18-9 rebounding advantage and committed only three turnovers after having 14 in the first half in their previous game.

Big run: Dayton opened the game with a 10-3 run after scoring the first 10 points Wednesday in a 69-57 victory against Duquesne at UD Arena.

Rotation news: For the third straight game, Dayton has only eight players available: seven scholarship players plus walk-on Brady Uhl, the only player who did not see action in the first half. Malachi Smith, Kobe Elvis, Richard Amaefule and walk-on Ty Locklear are on the bench in sweatsuits because of injuries.

About the Author