National Basketball Association
Dayton 81, Grambling State 53
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, December 23, 2019
Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
Officials:
# Todd Austin, # Brent Hampton, # Bert Smith
Attendance:
13407
By Field Level Media
Junior guard Ibi Watson made four 3-pointers and all 10 of his free-throw attempts to finish with a game-high 30 points while Rodney Chatman poured in 17 to go with six assists to lift No. 18 Dayton to a 81-53 rout over visiting Grambling on Monday night.
The Flyers (10-2) rode a hot shooting effort from beyond the arc to get back in the win column following a Saturday defeat to Colorado. Dayton shot 8-for-19 from 3-point range and 54 percent overall.
Kelton Edwards and Anthony Gaston led the Tigers (6-7) with 12 points apiece.
The Flyers built a 20-point lead early in the second half, but the Tigers responded by reeling off six straight to cut the gap to 48-34 following a jumper from Edwards.
With the score 54-44 and eight minutes remaining, Watson hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 6-0 run that essentially put the game out of reach. A few minutes later, Watson produced a four-point play that padded the lead to 69-48.
After dropping from No. 13 (its highest ranking since 1967) to No. 18, Dayton avoided a second straight upset loss by building a 19-point lead in the first half.
The Tigers were the perfect tonic for Dayton's ills following a tough loss to the Buffaloes in Chicago in which the Flyers lost on a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime. Dayton led for 27:13 in that one but couldn't put away pesky Colorado.
That wasn't a problem on Monday against Grambling. The Flyers raced out to a 40-22 lead heading into halftime, shooting 14-for-27 from the field to offset a 9-for-17 showing from the free-throw line. The Tigers missed all 11 of their first-half 3-point attempts en route to a 32.3-percent shooting effort in the first 20 minutes.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Grambling State |
|
Dayton |
Kelton Edwards 12 |
Scoring |
Ibi Watson 30 |
Ivy Smith Jr. 4 |
Assists |
Rodney Chatman 6 |
Terreon Randolph 6 |
Rebounds |
Trey Landers 9 |
Anthony Gaston 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Ibi Watson 10 |
Ivy Smith Jr. 2 |
Steals |
Rodney Chatman 2 |
Travon Bunch 2 |
Blocks |
Obi Toppin 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Grambling State
|
53 |
39.3 |
2-19 |
7-14 |
9 |
25 |
2 |
7 |
12 |
Dayton
|
81 |
54.0 |
8-19 |
19-31 |
19 |
33 |
3 |
4 |
12 |