DAYTON, Ohio — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team fell to Rhode Island 72-70 in overtime of a heated A-10 conference matchup. Dayton moves to 19-10 (11-5 A-10) with the loss, while URI improves to 14-14 (7-9 A-10) on the year. UD is now tied for second with Davidson in the A-10 Conference.
The Flyers were led by Obi Toppin with a career-high 26 points. Obi continued his dominance at the rim pushing his single-season dunk record to 73 while registering his sixth double-double of the season.
Ryan Mikesell also had a dominant performance with an impressive stat line of 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 42 minutes of play. All of which are new career-highs for him. He also converted eight-of-nine from the free throw line tying his career-high and achieved his second double-double of the season.
GAME SUMMARY
First Half: Rhode Island 38, Dayton 31
Dayton took an early lead with strong defensive play forcing turnovers on two of URIs first four possessions
Rhode Island came firing back shooting seven-of-seven to take a 18-13 lead at the 12-minute mark
The Flyers got UD arena on their feet with a 7-0 run to take the lead 22-21 while forcing 3 turnovers and holding URI to a four-minute scoring drought
The leading scorers on both sides exceeded their average ppg in the first half of play Fatts Russell for URI had 14 (12.7 ppg) and Dayton’s Ryan Mikesell had 11 (9.6 ppg)
UD capitalized at the free throw line making eight-of-10 in the half while Rhode Island managed only one free throw on two attempts
URI dominated from behind the arc shooting 42% from three compared to 20% for the Flyers
Second Half: Dayton 63, Rhode Island 63
URI reached their largest lead of the game, 12 points after an eight-point run four minutes into the half
A Ryan Mikesell three and Obi Toppin’s 73rd dunk of the season got the Dayton fans on their feet and cut the deficit to five at the 11-minute mark
After 10 minutes of play both teams had identical FG stats shooting six-of-12 and two-of-five from three
Five straight made free throws from the Flyers brought URIs lead down to a single point with three minutes remaining in the game
UD tied the game with 30 seconds remaining in regulation after trailing for the entirety of the second half
A missed free throw by Rhode Island gave Dayton a chance to score at the buzzer, Trey Landers came up just short with a follow-up tip-in that rolled just off the rim
Overtime Final: Rhode Island 72, Dayton 70
Dayton started the overtime scoring with a layup from Ryan Mikesell to take its first lead since 8:36 in the first half
Obi Toppin was responsible for five of the Flyer’s seven overtime points and did not miss in the overtime period
In the final five-minute overtime period there were three offensive rebounds and a total of seven second chance points between both teams.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Flyers were on point from the charity stripe converting 17-of-20 FTs for 85%, much better than their 66.5% season average
Obi Toppin tied his career and season high for points with 26 while shooting 11-of-14
Ryan Mikesell broke his season and career highs for points (23) and tied his highest rebounds (11) and FTs (8) while registering his second double double of the season.
Toppin continued his record setting season registering his 73rd dunk of the year
UD won the battle of the boards with 35 total rebounds over 26 by URI, although Rhode Island held the advantage for offensive rebounds with seven compared to six for UD
Jalen Crutcher led all players with 44 minutes played in the 45 minute game
This was the ninth time this year UD came from behind 10 points or more to take a lead in a game.
UP NEXT
Dayton’s next game will be La Salle at UD Arena on Wednesday, Mar. 6 at 7 p.m. ET. The La Salle game is Senior Night and the last regular season home game of the season.
Dayton finishes the regular season on Saturday, March 8 at Duquesne.
