Koby Brea comes off the bench to score 17, leading No. 21 Dayton in 80-66 rout of Davidson
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Koby Brea came off the bench to score 17 points, including 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range, and No. 21 Dayton bounced back from a road loss with an 80-66 rout of Davidson on Tuesday night.
Enoch Cheeks led five other players in double figures with 15 points for Dayton, which went 12 of 28 on 3-pointers. Leading scorer DaRon Holmes II had a low-key first half, but finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The 71-67 loss by the Flyers to George Mason on Feb. 21 dropped them five spots in the AP Top 25 and one game out of first place in the Atlantic 10. But well-rested Dayton (22-5, 12-3 A-10) had a full week off, and it showed early.
After going down 6-0 in the first minute, the more physical Flyers jumped on Davidson (15-13, 5-10), mounting a 24-4 run over 8:27 in the middle of the first half. Brea scored 14 in the half, including 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, and the Flyers led 40-21 at the break.
The Wildcats closed within 13 early in the second half but never really got back in the game.
Connor Kochera led Davidson with 18 points, and Reed Bailey added 12.
BIG PICTURE
Davidson: The Wildcats couldn’t climb out of the first-half hole. They shot 38% and were dominated on the boards.
Dayton: The Flyers had lost two of four. They’re still the only team in the Atlantic 10 ranked in the AP Top 25 and are No. 20 in the NCAA evaluation rankings. They’re eyeing their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
UP NEXT
Davidson: Will host UMass on Saturday.
Dayton: Plays at Loyola Chicago on Friday night.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball