TOLEDO, OH - Toledo's offense fared well against a very stingy Dayton defense but the Rockets succumbed to the Flyers' superior depth and hot outside shooting in a 77-63 loss before a crowd of 6,921 at Savage Arena on Friday.
Toledo (2-11) shot 46.4 percent from the field, significantly better than the 34.3 shooting mark Dayton had been allowing opponents this season. But the Flyers shot even better, hitting 50.8 percent of their shots and 9-of-21 from three-point range. Senior guard Jonathan Amos led all scorers with 23 points while sophomore forward Justin Anyijong set career highs with 16 points and 12 rebounds, including 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
Dayton (13-1) was led by Marcus Johnson's 21 points, including three of his four three-pointers at crucial moments in the second half. Johnson was one of eight Flyers who scored and played at least 13 minutes. Johnson played 30 minutes but no other Dayton player logged more than 24 minutes. By contrast, all five Rockets starters played at least 31 minutes.
Toledo was hurt by 18 turnovers to just 12 for Dayton, and was outrebounded, 35-32.
"Has anybody seen that movie 'Groundhog Day,' where you see the same thing over and over again? We keep having lapses where we make poor decisions, whether it be a bad pass or an ill-advised drive," said UT head coach Gene Cross. "Whatever it is, we have those lapses. We've got to figure out how to fight through our mistakes."
The Rockets led by as many as five points in the first half, going up 24-19 on an Anyijong three-pointer with 5:44 to play in the first half. But Dayton finished out the first half on a 20-6 run to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room.
The Flyers stretched the lead out to 15 early in the second half before the Rockets made another rally. Anyijong hit a three with 13:35 to play to pull the Rockets to within five, 47-42. Toledo kept the score close over the next five minutes. But following a Tyrone Kent layup with 8:34 to play to make the score, 55-49, Dayton went on an 8-2 run and was never challenged again.
"Dayton gets the ball down the floor very quickly," said Cross. "We did not do a good job in transition of identifying the primary threats. Marcus Johnson is their primary three-point threat. You can't stand and watch him shoot it. You've got to get out on him. We didn't do that on two or three straight possessions and that really hurt us."
The Rockets host Rhode Island next Tuesday before beginning Mid-American Conference play on at Northern Illinois on Jan. 10.
