DAYTON – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team rode a 20-3 second-half run to erase a 10-point deficit and top Northwestern 71-66 on Saturday night in front of a full house inside UD Arena.
Seniors Enoch Cheeks and Nate Santos led an electrifying comeback for the Flyers, each scoring 16 points. Redshirt junior Malachi Smith put up 14 of his own to go along with six assists, and graduate student Zed Key added 11 points thanks to a 7-for-7 showing at the charity stripe.
The Flyers were on fire from the floor in the second half, shooting 70% (16-23) after a 35 % showing (8-23) in the first half. On the defensive side, Dayton forced Northwestern into 16 turnovers, including a career-high six steals for Cheeks.
GAME RECAP
First Half – Northwestern 32, Dayton 24
Senior Nate Santos helped the Flyers get on the board by drawing a foul and knocking down one of two free throws.
A steal and an assist from Senior Enoch Cheeks lead to Dayton’s first field goal from junior Malachi Smith.
Cheeks grabs his second steal of the day and goes coast to coast drawing the And-1 foul.
The Flyers end their scoring drought with a huge three from Smith to bring them within two (11-13).
Santos launched a three of his own and brings the Flyers within one (14-15).
Northwestern goes on a 14-3 scoring run to put them ahead 27-14 at the 4-minute mark.
Santos ends the Flyer drought with a step-back three.
Good defense from Dayton and a three from Cheeks helped bring the Flyers within five with 52 seconds left in the half
Second Half – Dayton 71, Northwestern 66
Santos started the second half with a strong layup to get the Flyers’ comeback started.
Cheeks gets himself going with an electric one-handed dunk at 18:00.
The Flyers stay hot with a pair of threes from Santos (17:21) and Javon Bennett (16:30).
Jacob Conner puts himself on the board making a layup (12:16).
Grad student Zed Key stays perfect from the line knocking down two free throws (4-4).
A drawn charge from Smith and a deep three from Bennett (8:57) brings the Flyers back within three of the Wildcats (48-51).
Smith goes coast-to-coast grabbing a rebound and making a tough left-handed layup bringing Dayton within one (50-51) with 8:13 left to go.
Smith knocks down a pair of free throws to tie the game (7:44)
Cheeks grabs himself another steal and slams it down to give the Flyers a two-point lead (54-52).
An offensive rebound from Conner leads to another bucket by Cheeks (4:58).
Key draws another And-1 making the layup and staying perfect from the line, growing Flyer lead to 59-54 with 3:20 to go.
After a string of fouls from the Wildcats, the Flyers cap their comeback win by going 4-4 from the field to end the game.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 – Flyers with double-digit scoring efforts (Cheeks – 16, Santos – 16, Smith – 14, Key – 11)
44 – The Flyers shot 44-percent from beyond the arc in the second half to fuel their comeback win
7 – Zed Key was a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line
20 – Amount of points off turnovers for the Flyers
6 – Enoch Cheeks had six steals against the Wildcats, a new career-high
10 – Total fast break points for the Flyers
6 – Key led UD in rebounding
2 – After allowing nine second-chance points in the first half, Dayton limited Northwestern to just two in the second half
The win was the first for Dayton over a Big Ten opponent since topping Iowa at the AdvoCare Invitational in the 2015-16 season
UP NEXT
The Flyers host Ball State at UD Arena next Wednesday, Nov. 13.
