In the six games the University of Dayton has played outside the friendly confines of the UD Arena, the Flyers are 0-6. Number six was earned Saturday afternoon as a poorly-coached LaSalle club handed the Flyers an 81-70 loss before just 2,315 souls at the Tom Gola Center. What should have been a winnable game turned out to be just another disappointing road performance for a program that has not beaten a foe better than .500 away from the Arena in several years. That’s right. Years. Dayton falls under .500 for the second time this year at 7-8 (2-3) while LaSalle improves to 7-8 (3-2).

Dayton was led in scoring by Mark Ashman with 20pts, while Coby Turner finished a solid effort with 18pts and 9 rebounds. Tony Stanley, a victim of poor shooting once again, still managed 12pts and a team-high 12 rebounds.

The Flyers fell behind early and played catch-up for the entire first half. LaSalle’s K’Zell Wesson abused Dayton early for offensive rebounds and loose balls while Victor Thomas made several baskets to pace the Explorers in the first frame. Dayton’s deficiency was defense, or lack thereof. While LaSalle shot a poor percentage, many of their second-chance opportunities resulted in made field goals or free throws. By the time halftime rolled around, the Flyers found themselves down 35-28 to a team they should be beating.

One can only guess what was said in the UD locker room at halftime, but whatever it was, the pep talk apparently worked — at least briefly. The Flyers stormed out of the gates in the second half and built a three-point lead in under three minutes of play. The Flyers were kicking on all cylinders, but once again the wheels fell off just as UD appeared to take command of the game.

Dayton went on yet another scoring drought, going without a field goal for over five minutes while LaSalle started hitting from long-range. As Dayton failed to score on the offensive end, their defensive intensity backed off as well.

During the turning point of the game, Dayton committed four turnovers, Stephen Bamigbola missed four straight free throws, and LaSalle nailed five treys to blow the game open. The Explorers couldn’t pound the ball inside so they bombed away from three-point land to the tune of 15 points down the stretch while UD made one mental mistake after another to lose for the third game in a row. Most of LaSalle’s treys were uncontested shots made by their streaky sharpshooters of Thomas, Carr, and Butler.

In the boxscore, Dayton outrebounded LaSalle 38-27, but shot only .421% from the floor. The difference in the game was 3-PT shooting and FT shooting. LaSalle connected on 9-21 from behind the arc and made 24-28 freebies at the line. Conversely, UD made only 2-13 treys and 20-28 free throws.

Coby Turner played his best game of the year despite the loss. Turner started hitting some jumpshots and continues to rebound the basketball. Stephen Bamigbola also played well, scoring 8pts and nabbing 5 boards in 13 minutes.

While Tony Stanley could only muster 4-14 shooting on the afternoon, he was active in other areas of the game and otherwise made a strong account of himself with two steals to go along with 12 rebounds — though he did commit a team-high 4 turnovers in 38 minutes of action.

This loss is without question the most disappointing of the year. Dayton had an excellent opportunity to earn a road win against a mediocre team in a building that is anything but hostile. If Dayton cannot beat the LaSalles on the road, it’s hard to imagine Purnell’s ballclub beating just about anyone away from home. Unless the Flyers get over their road inabilities in a hurry, this scarlet letter could prove to be a hindrance in everything from post-season bids to recruiting. The misery must come to an end soon because this year’s team has too much talent to lose nearly every game outside of UD Arena.