Dayton continues to roll in the A10, racking up the wins. Today, they got a little bit of a scare from Massachusetts in Amherst, but the Flyers prevailed to win 71-63. This win increased Dayton’s record to 23-2 and 12-0 in the A10. UMass dropped to 10-15 and 4-8 in the A10. Dayton’s winning streak is now up to 14 games. On to the takeaways for both teams:
Dayton Looked Tired
Dayton pretty much lulled their way to a win, letting UMass get to an early 12-6 lead, but would eventually take over. Was it the easy layups and 2 pointers not going in? Was it the early start time? It doesn’t really matter, as Dayton did not really get up for this game. Credit to UMass for trying to take advantage of that.
Tre Mitchell is Special
We can stop with the “Tre Mitchell is going to be special” takes because the dude is already a special player. Obi Toppin played subpar defense today against him, which Mitchell took advantage to score 26 points and grab 10 rebounds. Jordy Tshimanga was surprisingly the best defender against him today, and it was still Tre’s day. He’s already special, just how much this guy is going to get better is scary for the rest of the A10.
Jordy is Getting Better
Jordy Tshimanga had yet another good game, posting 6 points and 3 boards in 12 minutes of action. He had to play a lot more due to Toppin leaving with 3 fouls in the second half, but the big body of Jordy made the most of it. He is fitting into his role (finally) as that big body. Who cares about the fouls right now when he is Dayton’s bully ball player down low. Dayton desperately needed one of those.
3 Pointers Killed the Minutemen
UMass shot 4-20 from the arch, not their best performance. They needed those today to pull off the upset of the year. With Tre Mitchell giving UMass his best performance of the season, the rest of his teammates needed to pick up something else to help him out. They tried with shooting the three, but it didn’t happen today. Carl Pierre, arguably their best shooter, was 1-8 today from three. UMass needs both Pierre and Mitchell to win games.
A Road Win is a Road Win
At this point of the season, Dayton is focused on trying to win all 18 games in the A10. That would match only two other teams in A10 history. Even though this was a much closer than expected game, a win is still a win. It is hard to win on the road in the A10, no matter who you are. This year proves it more than ever. The Flyers have a lot to improve upon for their next game, but today they should focus on the fact that they are 12-0 with 6 games to go. A road win is a road win.
Up next
Dayton heads to VCU on Tuesday to face a Rams team itching to get back on the right side of the bubble. UMass stays at home to face Saint Louis, also on Tuesday.
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Image credit to Yahoo sports.