DaRon Holmes II powers No. 25 Dayton past Saint Louis

Field Level Media|published: Tue 5th March, 23:23 2024

Feb 13, 2024; Dayton, Ohio, USA; Dayton Flyers head coach Anthony Grant motions to the team during the game against Duquesne at University of Dayton Arena. credits: Matt Lunsford-USA TODAY Sports

All-America candidate DaRon Holmes II scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and No. 25 Dayton hit a season-high-tying 18 3-pointers in a 100-83 rout of host Saint Louis on Tuesday night in Atlantic 10 action.

Kobe Elvis and Koby Brea each added 21 for Dayton (23-6, 13-4 A-10), which rebounded from a disappointing road loss last Friday in Chicago to Loyola that dropped them four places in the national polls.

Holmes has been a one-man wrecking crew against Saint Louis this season. He poured in 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 70-65 Dayton home win on Jan. 17 before helping the Flyers complete the season sweep Tuesday.

It was Dayton's first 100-point game since Jan. 12, 2018, a 106-79 win over VCU.

Dayton pulled away from Saint Louis using sharp 3-point shooting, rebounding dominance and points in the paint. The Flyers held a 38-21 advantage on the glass, outscored the Billikens 22-6 on second-chance points and shot a blazing 18 of 33 (54.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

Gibson Jimerson scored 24 and Terrence Hargrove Jr. added 17 for Saint Louis (11-19, 4-13), which lost at home to Dayton for the first time in three games.

Each team was without key contributors.

Dayton starting point guard Javon Bennett missed the game after sitting out the second half of Friday's loss with a left thumb injury.

Brea, the nation's leader in 3-point shooting percentage (48.8 percent), received his first start of the season with Elvis moving over to point guard, taking the place of Bennett.

The Billikens were without their leading scorer as Sincere Parker sat out with a right shoulder injury suffered in Saturday's win over Rhode Island.

Hargrove celebrated his final appearance at Chaifetz Arena with a thunderous two-handed jam less than five minutes into the game as Saint Louis went on to build a 13-6 lead.

Trailing 25-21, Dayton scored 11 straight points as part of a 19-3 spurt to take a 40-28 lead.

Dayton dominated rebounding in the first half 27-9, with 11 coming on the offensive glass. Holmes grabbed nine boards to go with his 12 points as Dayton finished on a 28-10 spurt to take a 49-35 lead.

—Field Level Media

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