Jalen Crutcher scored 21 points and Obi Toppin added 16 to lead No. 19 Dayton to a 78-68 win over Saint Mary's on Sunday in the Air Force Reserve Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix.
Crutcher scored 19 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He cooled off in the second half and finished 7-for-13 from the field but also recorded six assists.
Trey Landers was clutch down the stretch for the Flyers (7-1) and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Malik Fitts led the Gaels (9-2) with 21 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Kristers Zoriks chipped in with 14 points and Jordan Ford finished with 11.
An early 10-0 run gave the Flyers a nine-point lead with Crutcher's 3-pointer making it 13-4. A layup by Matthias Tass pulled Saint Mary's within seven, but that would be as close as the Gaels would get the rest of the game.
A 3-pointer from Toppin from the left wing and a Crutcher layup pushed the Dayton advantage to 12. Three straight 3-pointers, two by Crutcher and one by Landers extended the Flyers' advantage to 35-18 with 4:48 left to go in the half.
Dayton took a 46-25 lead into intermission.
Saint Mary's came out in the second half and outscored Dayton 23-12 to trim the deficit to 58-48 on a 3-pointer by Fitts with 11:32 to go.
But Dayton answered with an 11-2 run to go back up by 69-50 on a Toppin dunk off a missed shot by Crutcher.
The Gaels had one last run and trailed just 72-63 with a little more than two minutes left in the game after Ford scored four straight points.
Zoriks' 3 after two free throws by Dayton's Landers made the score 74-66. Landers answered with a layup to ice the win for Dayton.
--Field Level Media
Dayton | St. Mary's | |
Jalen Crutcher 21 | Scoring | Malik Fitts 21 |
Jalen Crutcher 6 | Assists | Jordan Ford 3 |
Trey Landers 8 | Rebounds | Malik Fitts 8 |
Ibi Watson 4 | Free Throws Made | Malik Fitts 4 |
Ibi Watson 2 | Steals | Jordan Ford 2 |
Trey Landers 1 | Blocks | Dan Fotu 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Dayton | 78 | 53.8 | 13-24 | 9-12 | 15 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
St. Mary's | 68 | 45.1 | 7-16 | 15-19 | 6 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 12 |