Kendall Pollard enjoys career-best night from behind the arc

Dayton Flyers senior made 3 of 3 3-pointers vs. Bonnies

Coach Archie Miller had a one-word answer when he was asked Tuesday if senior forward Kendall Pollard had turned into a 3-point shooter.

“No,” Miller said.

Pollard made 8 of 32 3-pointers in the first 106 games of his career with the Dayton Flyers. In the 107th game, a 90-74 victory over St. Bonaventure at the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y., he made 3 of 3. After the second and third 3-pointers, he bounced back down the court with a big smile on his face as if even he couldn’t believe it.

In one night, Pollard improved his career 3-point accuracy from 25 percent to 31.4.

“Him making 3-point shots isn’t clearly what the game plan is,” Miller said. “He finds himself open for a reason, I tell him. He’s trying to prove me wrong now.”

Pollard wasn’t the only one with the hot hand. Dayton made 14 of 23 3-pointers, falling one short of the school record it has set three times, most recently Dec. 23 against VMI. This was the 12th time in UD history a team has made at least 14 3-pointers, and it hadn’t been done on the road since Jan. 30, 2005, at George Washington.

Kyle Davis made 3 of 3. His accuracy had declined from 33.9 as a junior to 25 percent this season. One perfect night pushed his percentage to 32.3 (10 of 31).

Scoochie Smith broke out of a shooting slump by making 3 of 6. He had made 4 of 27 in the last five games and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts Friday against La Salle. He improved his season average to 33.8 (23 of 68).

Xeyrius Williams and Ryan Mikesell each made 2 of 3. Williams shoots 39.5 percent (15 of 38) from behind the arc. Mikesell’s percentage stands at 37.5 (12 of 32).

Sam Miller made 1 of 2. He has the best percentage (13 of 27, 48.1) on the team among players who have shot at least 20 3-pointers.

Dayton moved into a tie for most 3-pointers made in the A-10 (116) and ranks third in percentage (37.5). The challenge for the Flyers (11-3, 2-0), who host Rhode Island (10-4, 2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, will be to shoot well in back-to-back games. They have topped 40 percent from 3-point range in consecutive games only once (in November against Nebraska and Portland).

Miller won’t be counting on Pollard for that, even if the senior may be tempted to let it fly. The bigger key for Pollard on Friday will be staying in the game. Foul trouble limited him to 16 minutes Tuesday. He still managed to score 21 points.

“I’m a little disappointed about the fouling,” Miller said. “He’s reaching a lot. He’s committing a lot of over-aggressive fouls. We need him on the floor. He’s a good player. He’s starting to shape himself back into form from a couple years ago. He hasn’t been able to stay this consistent with his health in over a year. I think you’re seeing a guy who’s a byproduct of fighting an uphill battle. We told him as we got to January if you can just fight through it, you’ll start to feel a little bit like yourself, and I think he’s playing that way.”


FRIDAY’S GAME

Rhode Island at Dayton, 7 p.m., ESPN2, FM 95.7, AM 1290 WHIO

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