DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team won for the fifth straight time, taking down Northern Illinois 79-41 at UD Arena on Saturday. The win puts the Flyers at 6-3 this season, while the Huskies drop to 2-6 with the loss.
Redshirt junior Elijah Weaver led the team with 16 points, tying his career-high while making six of seven shots he took in the game. Freshman DaRon Holmes II finished with 14 points also going 6-for-7 from the field. Redshirt freshman Koby Brea knocked down four three-point baskets, while freshman Lynn Greer III set career highs with six rebounds and four assists.
GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Half: Dayton 41, Northern Illinois 22
· Holmes II scored the first points of the game for Dayton, marking the third time this season he has been the first Flyer to score.
· Dayton jumped out to an early 9-0 lead forcing an NIU timeout. Four different Flyers scored baskets during the stretch.
· The Huskies were held to just two points in the first four minutes missing six of their first seven shots.
· Dayton made eight of their first 10 shots and led 18-2 after six minutes of play.
· The lead was extended to 24-11 with 7:56 remaining as Koby Brea made the Flyer’s first three of the contest.
· Dunks by RJ Blakney and Holmes II put Dayton up 35-18 with 3:24 left. Holmes II started the game converting on his first five shots.
· The Flyers led by 19 at halftime, marking their largest halftime lead of the season.
· Eight different Flyers scored in the first half, with Holmes II leading all scorers with 12.
· The Flyers made 14 of 15 two-point baskets in the first half which represented the team’s best half inside the three-point line this season.
· The Dayton defense held strong against the Huskies in the first half, holding Northern Illinois to just one made three on seven attempts.
2nd Half: Dayton 79, Northern Illinois 41
· Dayton continued the momentum into the second half, opening the second 20 minutes on a 5-0 run.
· Northern Illinois responded with a 6-0 run of its own.
· Dayton responded with a 14-5 run using four three-point baskets, three of which came from Koby Brea.
· The lead was extended to 71-33 with 8:11 left as Dayton went on a 17-0 run that featured nine straight points by Elijah Weaver.
· The two teams traded baskets down the stretch, resulting in the 79-41 final score.
· Eleven different Flyers scored in the contest, including Zimi Nwokeji, who scored his first two points of the season in the win.
· Weaver scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.
· Brea also added nine of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes of the contest.
· Moulaye Sissoko tallied all eight of his team-high rebounds in the second half.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
· Four Flyers hit double digits — Elijah Weaver (16), DaRon Holmes II (14), Koby Brea (12), and Malachi Smith (11).
· At least three Flyers have reached double figures in each of Dayton’s last eight games.
· The 41 points scored by Northern Illinois marked the fewest the Dayton defense has allowed since Nov. 29, 2014, against Illinois-Chicago (.
· The Flyers assisted on 18 of the 31 field goals, Northern Illinois had seven total assists in the game.
· The Flyers had 44 bench points compared to 27 by the Huskies.
· During the five-game winning streak, Dayton has outscored opponents by a combined 96 points.
· UD shot 90 percent from the free throw line against Northern Illinois, while the Huskies shot just 50 percent from the charity stripe.
· Twelve different Flyers saw at least five minutes of action, with no one surpassing 24 minutes played in the contest.
UP NEXT
· Dayton will head to Dallas for a game at SMU on Dec. 8th.
· The team will be back at UD Arena on Sunday, Dec. 12th for a matchup with Virginia Tech. The Tech game tips at 2 p.m. ET.