No. 24 Dayton routs Lindenwood in season opener

Five Flyers score in double figures.

The No. 24 Dayton Flyers opened the 2022-23 season with a 73-46 victory against Division I newcomer Lindenwood University on Monday in front of a sold-out crowd of 13,407 at UD Arena.

Here’s a quick recap of the victory, Dayton’s 18th straight in a season opener.

Top scorers: Mustapha Amzil led Dayton with 14 points off the bench. He made 7 of 8 free throws. DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each scored 13. Freshman Mike Sharavjamts had 10 in his Dayton debut. Kobe Elvis also had 10.

Top passers: Kobe Elvis and Sharavjamts, both playing the point at times with Malachi Smith sidelined by injury, each had five assists.

Top rebounder: Toumani Camara had 11 rebounds to go with six points.

Plus-minus leader: Dayton outscored Lindenwood by 29 points with Holmes on the court.

Best play: Sharavjamts threw a pass in the lane to Holmes, who finished with a powerful dunk in the second half.

Roster news: Georgia transfer Tyrone Baker, one of the team’s two newcomers along with Sharavjamts, will redshirt this season, Dayton coach Anthony Grant said after the game. That leaves UD with seven scholarship players at the moment with three players (Malachi Smith, Koby Brea and Richard Amaefule) sidelined by injury and Kaleb Washington suspended.

Key stat: Dayton shot 47% from the field and held Lindenwood to 33%.

Negative stat: Dayton shot 26.3% (5 of 19) from 3-point range.

Biggest run: Dayton scored 11 straight points late in the second half.

Largest lead: Dayton led by 34 with 3:59 to play.

HALFTIME RECAP

Sharavjamts scored the first points of the season for the Flyers on Monday as they opened the game against Lindenwood on an 8-0 run.

Sharavjamts, who joined four returning starters in the lineup, became the first native of Mongolia to play in a Division I college basketball game. He scored five points and tallied two assists to help lead Dayton to a 35-21 halftime lead against a new Division I school.

Here’s a quick first-half recap:

Top scorer: Elvis scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting for Dayton.

Biggest lead: Dayton led by as many as 17 points at the 8:21 mark.

Biggest run: Dayton outscored Lindenwood 8-0 in the first 2:17.

Top reserve: Amzil scored four points, all at the free-throw line, in nine minutes.

Best stat: Dayton shot 10 of 17 from 2-point range.

Worst stat: Lindenwood made 2 of 12 3-pointers (16.7%).

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