Flyers beat Walsh in exhibition play

The University of Dayton Flyers men’s basketball team used a second half surge to down the Walsh Cavaliers 81-63 Sunday night at UD Arena.

 

Senior Josh Benson led four Flyers in double-figures with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Flyers finished the exhibition portion of their schedule.

 

Benson converted on 11-of-15 shots for the game, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the field in the second half for 14 points. Two other Flyers nearly joined Benson with double-doubles as junior Devin Oliver scored eight points and pulled down 11 rebounds and senior Kevin Dillard scored 11 points and dished out nine assists.

Freshman Jalen Robinson converted 5-of-9 shots for 13 points and hauled in seven rebounds. Junior Vee Sanford had a complete game of 12 points, four rebounds and four steals. Sanford scored all 12 of his points in the second half, going 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from the three.

 

In the first half, Walsh shot 14-of-26 (53.8%), including 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the three, to take a 35-27 halftime lead. UD shot just 12-of-36 (33.3%) and 1-of-12 (8.3%) from the three in the first stanza.

 

However, the momentum swung in UD’s favor as the teams headed out of the locker room for the second half. The Flyers converted their first 14-of-15 shots to erase a 35-27 deficit into a 59-45 lead with 11:22 remaining in the game. Overall, the Flyers went on a 32-10 run over the first eight minutes and 38 seconds to take a lead that they would not relinquish.

 

Dayton shot 23-of-32 (71.9%) from the field and dished out 13 assists in the second half while Walsh shot 10-of-29 (34.5%) and dished out only three assists.  UD outscored Walsh 54-28 after intermission.

 

Overall, the Flyers shot 35-of-68 (51.5%) from the field and 5-of-21 (23.8%) from the three point line. Walsh made 24-of-55 (43.6%) of its shots from the field and 8-of-18 from beyond the arc. UD dominated the glass for the second straight game, outrebounding the Cavaliers 47-26. Dayton’s 18 offensive rebounds led to 13 more shots. The Flyers also outscored Walsh 52-24 in the paint and 19-9 on the fast break.

 

UD’s season opener is at UD Arena  on Saturday, Nov. 10 against Arkansas State.   Game time is at 2 p.m. ET.