For most of the first half Wednesday at UD Arena, it appeared the Dayton Flyers would roll to an easy victory four days after a tension-filled 71-66 win against Northwestern.
That didn’t happen. Instead, Ball State chipped away at a 20-point first-half deficit to get as close as five points before Dayton put the game away, winning 77-69.
“Basketball is always going to be a 40-minute game,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “That’s the lesson for our guys today. We talked about it at the half. Being up 20 going into the last four minutes, we understood that we needed to try to get the momentum going into the second half. They were able to make a few plays and cut it to 15 (at halftime). Momentum is a funny thing.”
Despite the second-half struggles, Dayton does still have momentum in the season. It is 3-0 for the third time in Grant’s eight seasons and for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 19th straight home victory:
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
1. Isaac Jack made a big impact in his season debut: After sitting out the first two games with a lower-body injury, the junior forward scored 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting against Ball State.
Jack played just under 14 minutes. He was on the court for a nine-minute stretch in the second half because Key picked up his fourth foul with 12:53 to play.
After Ball State cut Dayton’s lead to 53-48 at the 10:44 mark with a quick 6-0 run, Posh Alexander scored on a fast-break layup and Jack followed with a layup to push the lead to nine points. Jack later scored back-to-back baskets to extend Dayton’s lead to 17 points at the 6:03 and 5:28 mark.
“I thought Isaac did a really good job,” Grant said. “With his size and physicality, he is a valuable piece to what we do. Zed got in foul trouble tonight. Isaac was able to come in and fill that void for us. That’s what you want to see out of a veteran and out of a guy that’s been in the program. He understands what these type of situations call for. He was the beneficiary tonight of some of the guards who were able to make plays for him from an offensive standpoint, but I thought his impact was bigger than just the scoring.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
2. Ball State couldn’t overcome the slow start: Fifteen years ago, Ball State played one of the worst offensive games against the Flyers in UD history. Dayton beat Ball State 59-35 on Jan. 5, 2010. That’s the sixth-lowest score posted against Dayton.
Ball State was on its way to an even worse showing Wednesday. Dayton opened the game with a 10-0 run and led 21-4 at the 11:25 mark.
Ball State found its touch in the final 10 minutes of the first half but still shot 26.1% (6 of 23) in the half. It was a different story in the second half.
Led by Jermahri Hill, who scored 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Ball State shot 48.3% (14 of 29) in the second half and made 7 of 11 3-pointers. Hill averaged 14.3 points last season for South Plains Junior College.
“They’re a good team,” Grant said. “I knew they’re a team that could score the ball. Watching (Hill) on film, he’s as good as advertised. He can score at three levels. He’s a talented player.”
Ball State also stayed in the game by making 21 of 24 free throws. Dayton made 21 of 29.
“They were able to get to the free throw line,” Grant said. “That’s uncharacteristic for us. We fouled a lot of guys in the act of shooting tonight. That’s not something we do. We’re typically more disciplined than that.”
3. Malachi Smith delivered his third straight strong performance: The redshirt junior point guard finished with 17 points and 10 assists with no turnovers. It was his third career double-double and first since his freshman season. He also had six rebounds, leaving four short of becoming the first player in Dayton history to record a triple-double.
Smith is averaging 14.0 points and 7.3 assists in three games. He has 22 assists and five turnovers.
“I look at the game differently,” Grant said. “I’m more interested in how our team is playing, how our team’s performing. I think Malachi is doing a really good job of running our team and taking advantage of what the other team’s game plan is. I look at the stat sheet. Ten assists tonight to one turnover is outstanding.”
Credit: David Jablonski
STAR OF THE GAME
Enoch Cheeks scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He added 12 rebounds. He fell one point short of the career high he hit at Robert Morris two years ago. This was the first time he scored more than 16 points in a Dayton uniform. Through three games, Cheeks is leading the team with 17.3 points per game.
STATS OF THE GAME
Dayton had a 19-4 advantage in fast-break points and outscored Ball State 17-5 in points off turnovers. Dayton had eight turnovers. Ball State had 15.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dayton plays Division III Capital University at 7 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. Capital improved to 2-0 with a 73-58 victory at Kenyon on Wednesday.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Capital at Dayton, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 1290, 95.7
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