DaRon Holmes and Mustapha Amzil each scored 20 points and No. 24 Dayton held off a late push by visiting SMU for a 74-62 win on Friday night.
The Flyers (2-0) ended the game on an 11-0 run over the final 2:12 after the Mustangs had trimmed a 13-point second-half deficit to 63-62 on Zach Nutall’s jumper with 2:36 remaining.
Holmes shot 7 for 11 from the field and added seven rebounds and five blocks, while Amzil went 5 for 8 off the bench, including three 3-pointers in six attempts to go along with five rebounds. Toumani Camara had eight points and 18 rebounds, while Mike Sharavjamts and Kobe Elvis scored 10 points apiece.
Nutall had 20 points, two rebounds and two steals for SMU (1-1), while Samuell Williamson added 14 points and nine rebounds and Zhuric Phelps chipped in 12 points and four rebounds. Efe Odigie had six points and 11 rebounds.
After leading 29-24 at halftime, Dayton opened the second half on an 18-10 run to take a 47-34 lead following Amzil’s two free throws with 12:52 left.
SMU countered by going on a 28-16 spurt to pull to within 63-62 on Nutall’s jumper with 2:36 remaining.
However, Dayton responded by ending the game on an 11-0 surge, as Amzil’s 3-pointer and three free throws led the Flyers push to secure the victory.
Dayton made 23 of 56 shots (41.1 percent) from the field, including 8 for 26 (30.8) from 3-point range, and outrebounded the Mustangs 44-36.
SMU shot 22 of 65 (33.8 percent) from the field, including 6 for 23 (26.1 percent) from the field, in addition to making 12 of 14 free-throw attempts (85.7 percent).
After the Flyers jumped out to a 22-10 lead eight minutes into the game, the Mustangs rallied to pull to within 29-24 at halftime.
Holmes scored 11 points and Amzil added 10 to carry the Flyers in the first 20 minutes. Dayton shot 12 of 33 (36.4 percent) from the field but went an abysmal 2 for 14 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range.
Nutall kept the Mustangs in the game early, scoring 12 first-half points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field and 2 for 5 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team shot 5 for 23 (21.7 percent) from the field and 2 for 6 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
