No. 21 Dayton extends win streak to 11, beats Saint Louis 70-65

DAYTON, Ohio -- — DaRon Holmes II scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half and grabbed 14 rebounds to help No. 21 Dayton beat Saint Louis 70-62 on Tuesday night for its 11th straight victory.

Holmes also led Dayton (14-2, 3-0 Atlantic 10) at the free throw line, going 10 of 17.

Saint Louis (8-9, 1-3) had a 14-0 run in the first half after trailing by eight and took a 30-28 lead into halftime.

“I felt like we got really good looks on one of those nights where shots didn’t fall for us,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “Had a little bit of a lead. They went on a run, and during that time it felt like we kind of got out of sorts. But our guys did a great job to close the half and a great job in the second half showed great character.”

Holmes threw down a dunk to open the second half and a 7-0 run gave the Flyers a 44-37 lead with 12:45 left to play. He later scored seven points in an 8-0 run to help Dayton go ahead by 11 with 3:53 left to play, its largest lead of the game.

Gibson Jimerson pulled the Billikens within five with a 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining, but they couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.

Jimerson led Saint Louis with 13 points, Terrence Hargrove Jr. had 12 and Bradley Ezewiro scored 10.

“They obviously played really well second half and played through their strength and got (Holmes) the ball,” Saint Louis coach Travis Ford said. “We still had our chances. I thought we have a lot of self-inflicted wounds as well.”

A HOMECOMING AHEAD

Dayton will next host Rhode Island on Saturday. The Rams are coached by Archie Miller.

Miller coached the Flyers from 2011-17, going 139-63 and leading Dayton to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

“You got to start with Arch,” Grant said. “Just really grateful for the job he did while he was here. He’s a heck of a coach, and I think for our fans (it’s) an opportunity to show him an appreciation for the time that he was here and what he did.”

HOT HAND HOLMES

Holmes has gone for at least 29 points in his past two games, including a 33-point performance at Duquesne on Friday.

Holmes shrugged off a first half in which he went 1 for 2 from the field to finish 9 for 13.

“I think I’ve improved the most from the neck up, understanding the game better,” Holmes said. “I feel like I’ve improved especially with shooting, just being able to create more opportunities for my teammates. It opens more things up just reading the game better, making better decisions. Just trying to be like that type of stuff and also be a better leader.”

BIG PICTURE

Saint Louis: The Billikens have lost four of their past five games. Their 41% from the field was their worst in 10 games.

Dayton: The Flyers’ winning streak is their longest since a 20-game run in 2019-20. It is also their fourth-longest winning streak in program history.

“With that ranking next to our name, we’re going to get every team’s best,” Holmes said. “It’s going to require us to focus on the little things and do our thing and play Dayton basketball, and we’re more than capable of doing it. We still have our best basketball coming forward so we’re just excited to keep it going.”

UP NEXT

Saint Louis: Travels to VCU on Friday.

Dayton: Hosts Rhode Island on Saturday.

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