Strong 2nd Half Lifts UD Over Fordham 93-76

After blowing a late lead at home to VCU and surrendering 23 offensive rebounds in the process, the UD men's basketball squad needed both a wellness check and manhood check on their flight to NYC to face the Fordham Rams on Wednesday evening at Rose Hill Gymnasium.  The Flyers rebounded with a 93-76 win as Malachi Smith led the scoring with 18 points -- most of it coming after halftime.  Dayton improves to 17-8 (7-5) while the Rams drop to 11-13 (3-8).
Dayton won last year's only meeting in a 78-70 victory at UD Arena as DaRon Holmes II led the way with 29pts and 10 rbs.  With Dayton holding a precarious 69-68 lead with under four minutes remaining, Anthony Grant's team outscored the Rams 9-2 down the stretch to survive the close shave despite shooting 57% FG. The Flyers came into Wednesday's contest winners of four consecutive games in the series and 21 of the last 22 meetings dating back to 2006. The only UD loss during this period came on Jan 5, 2021, when Fordham prevailed 55-54 at Rose Hill on a night Dayton shot a miserable 4-23 from behind the arc while the Rams nailed 9-18.
Amael L'Etang scored the first seven points for the Flyers on a trey, two free throws, and a lob to put UD in front 7-2. Both teams traded triples, then Grant substituted five new players out of the first media timeout -- including Zed Key who quickly converted a deuce for the 12-8 lead. A Posh Alexander trey put UD up 17-10 with 13:27 remaining in the first half. The lead grew to 19-10 before the ...