Dayton came out of the gates firing, and thanks to an impressive 13 three-pointers and a stout defense that held Duquesne to its lowest point output of the season, they avenged their March loss to Dukes with an 82-62 win on Tuesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Enoch Cheeks spearheaded the dominating performance with 23 points with 4 three-pointers made. He scored 15 of those points in the first half, a half in which the Flyers outscored the Dukes by 19. Javon Bennett and Amael L’Etang both poured in 16 points. Bennett also contributed 2 blocks and 2 steals as well to round out what was a dominant defensive performance for the Flyers. They forced the Dukes to turn it over 16 times and scored 17 points off those turnovers.
The Flyers started out hot, jumping out to a 20-11 lead in the first 10 minutes, forcing a Duquesne timeout. Things did not get much better in the final 10, and it was thanks to shotmaking from the usual suspects tonight like Bennett (7 points in that stretch), Cheeks (6) and L’Etang (5).
To start the second half, the Flyers went on a 20-9 run in the first 5:53. During that run, Bennett led with 6 points during the span. The lead got as high as 30, and Duquesne never had an answer.
Duquesne will hit the road for a pair of matchups with Fordham and Saint Joseph’s. Meanwhile, Dayton will also get Saint Joseph’s at home and then hit the road to face St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis.
