Duquesne closes strong to win A-10 opener 70-62 over Dayton

PITTSBURGH -- Rene Castro-Caneddy scored 21 points, Eric Williams Jr. added 15 and Duquesne closed with a 10-1 run to open Atlantic-10 play with a 70-62 win over Dayton on Saturday.

The Flyers erased a seven-point deficit with a 7-0 run midway through the second half and pulled within one on a jumper by Josh Cunningham with 5:33 remaining. Jalen Crutcher followed with two free throws to put the Flyers ahead 61-60 at 4:46. After that Dayton missed its final seven shots and made one free throw.

Duquesne (10-4), which matched last season's win total, regained the lead on a dunk by Chas Brown and Williams followed with a basket and four free throws.

The Dukes are 9-1 when holding opponents under 70 points and Dayton is 0-7 when scoring less than 70.

Castro-Caneddy had the first four of eight straight points for Duquesne that turned into a 13-2 run to close the half for a 38-24 lead. A jumper by Darrell Davis gave the Flyers a seven-point lead with 4:23 before the break but they made just 1 of 6 before the break.

Davis led Dayton, which shot 29 percent, with 19 points and Cunningham had 14 with 13 rebounds.