BRONX, New York — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team fell to 5-3 on the season and 1-2 in the Atlantic 10 Tuesday night, when the Flyers fell 55-54 at Fordham. Chris Austin’s three-pointer with 24 seconds left lifted the Rams (1-2, 1-2 A-10) to the win after Ibi Watson’s jumper from the right wing misfired at the buzzer.
Jalen Crutcher led Dayton with 14 points, while Mustapha Amzil added 10. Jordy Tshimanga grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.
GAME BREAKDOWN
First Half: Dayton 27, Fordham 24
· Fordham scored the first two points of the game, and then UD next scored the next seven points.
· Dayton did not trail the rest of the half, but Fordham hung with the Flyers, trailing by two points at every media break.
· A dunk by Zimi Nwokeji gave UD a 27-22 lead, but the Flyers did not score over the final 3:09 of the half to lead 27-24 at the break.
· Jalen Crutcher scored nine points for UD, while Jordy Tshimanga grabbed 11 rebounds.
· Dayton shot 35% (7-20) FG, and committed 11 turnovers (5 charges) in the first half.
· Fordham shot 32% (8-25) from the field.
Second Half: Fordham 55, Dayton 54
· The Flyers scored the first four points of the second half to take a 31-24 lead two minutes into the half.
· Fordham used an 11-2 run to lead 50-45 with 5:40 left.
· UD answered with a 7-0 spurt to lead 52-50 at the 2:09 mark.
· Ram point guard Josh Navarro got free for a layup with 54 seconds to go.
· Dayton’s Elijah Weaver slashed into the lane for the layup that put the Flyers ahead 54-52 with 35 seconds to go, setting up Austin’s heroics.
· UD shot 48% (11-23) in the second half, but made just one of 12 three-point attempts.
· Fordham shot 60% (12-20), and made six of eight from beyond the arc.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
· Jalen Crutcher (14 points) and Mustapha Amzil (10) reached double digits for the Flyers.
· Jordy Tshimanga also reached double digits in rebounds, with a career-high 16. He topped his previous mark of 12 set against SMU earlier this season.
· Fordham’s Chris Austin led all scorers with a career-high 20 points.
· Dayton made 14 of 20 of its two-point field goal attempts, but just four of its 23 three-point attempts.
UP NEXT
· The Flyers are at Davidson on Friday.
· ESPN2 will carry the game, which tips at 9 p.m. ET.
