Game of the Night
Dayton Flyers 52, Saint Louis Billikens 49
If there is one word to describe this game on Tuesday night, it was this: ugly. Both teams shot worse than 32% from the floor and neither team was able to make more than 25% of its three point attempts. In addition, each side gave the ball away 17 times, shot the ball worse than 65% from the free throw line, and both teams committed a total of 38 fouls on the night. Gross. While this wasn’t a game for those who love offense, it certainly was fun to watch these two grind it out in Chaifetz Arena. Though Saint Louis grabbed a 9 point lead with just under 7:30 to go in the 2nd half, the Flyers were able to grind their way back, force overtime, and grab the win.
Though this was definitely an ugly game, Scoochie Smith was able to muster a decent showing with a game-high 16 points on 5-11 shooting. Kyle Davis was the only other Flyer to score in double digits; he dropped 13 points on 5-10 shooting and was one of the only players who had it going from three point range (he went 3-4). Other than that, Dayton really struggled to get much of an offensive contribution from anyone. Leading scorer Charles Cooke had his worst game of the season, scoring just 3 points on 1-9 shooting. Dyshawn Pierre went just 2-10 from the field to score 7 points, though he also grabbed 11 boards. The Flyers have to be thrilled to have walked out of there with a win that snapped their two game losing streak. Things have been tough without the help of Kendall Pollard who’s apparently on a day-to-day status for the remainder of the season. Dayton will certainly hope to have him back for a home game against Rhode Island on Saturday.
Saint Louis was so close to pulling off one of the bigger upsets of the Atlantic 10 season, but it came up just short. The Billikens did an excellent job limiting Dayton’s opportunities on offense; last time these two met, the Flyers smoked the Billikens. Milik Yarbrough led the way for Saint Louis with 16 points on 6-16 shooting. Ash Yacoubou and Reggie Agbeko also scored in double digits with 12 and 11 respectively. By no means did Saint Louis play well, especially on offense, but it almost found a way to beat one of the best teams in the league, so the Billikens can’t be terribly unsatisfied. Though the Billikens had their two game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night, they’ll look to get back to winning when they travel to face St. Joseph’s this Sunday.
Elsewhere in A-10 Action
In another relatively low scoring game, the Wildcats were able to control the entire contest and get a confidence-boosting home win over Rhode Island. Though Jack Gibbs has had the hot hand for Davidson as of late, it was Peyton Aldridge who stole the show. The sophomore had 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks on the night. Gibbs followed right behind him with 17 points and 5 boards, but he went just 1-8 from behind the three point line. The Wildcats got off to a hot start but slowed down relatively quickly. The Rams had numerous opportunities to erase their double digit deficit, but they never managed to get it below 6. Jared Terrell led the way for Rhode Island with 13 points; Earl Watson had a near double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds. The worst news for the Rams is that they may be without Hassan Martin for the remainder of the season. He’s been dealing with nagging tendinitis in his knee, and coach Hurley indicated that he may be done for the year. Martin played just 10 minutes in Rhode Island’s loss at Davidson.
