DAYTON — The University of Dayton men’s basketball fell to Penn 78-70 on Saturday at UD Arena.  Stats were fairly even across the board except for three-point shooting.

The Flyers were led by Josh Cunningham, who scored 21 points and added eight rebounds. John Crosbyjoined him in double figures with 15 points.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Half: Dayton 35 Penn 35
• Penn opened the game on a 16-5 run
• Dayton battled back to tie up the game 21-21 with seven minutes left in the half
• Jordan Davis hit a three to end the half and tie the game at 35.
• The Flyers shot a solid 50% from the field while holding the Quakers to 38%.
• Penn shot from the arc making 8-of-14 (57%), while Dayton shot 6-of-14 (43%).
• Josh Cunningham led the Flyers with 11 points and five rebounds.

2nd Half: Penn 78 Dayton 70
• Flyers trailed 62-55 with just over seven minutes to go in the game.
• Penn continued to shoot beyond the arc, connecting on 13-of-22 threes.
• The Flyers cut the lead down to one point (62-61) with just over three minutes to go, but were unable to take the lead.
• Cunningham led all scorers with 21 points, shooting a perfect 9-of-9 from the field.
• The Quakers were able to make their free throws in crunch time, making nine of their last 11 (including the first seven of that stretch) and seal the game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Both teams shot well from the field, with UD shooting 49% and Penn shooting 55%.
• Sam Jones scored a career high for the Quakers with 15 points off the bench, making 5-of-6 threes.
• Cunningham shot a perfect 9-of-9 from the field, making him a perfect 15-of-15 for the week from the field.
• Cunningham had 21 points and eight rebounds, while John Crosby added 15 points.
• The Flyers had eight players score and two in double figures.
• Darrell Davis and Matej Svoboda led UD with four assists each.

KEY STAT
• 16 – Penn converted 16 fast break points compared to only seven by Dayton
• 59% – The Quakers shot an incredible 13-of-22 (59%) from three, while the Flyers shot 9-of-26 (35%).

UP NEXT
• After finals week, the Flyers will stay home to play Georgia State on Saturday, Dec. 16th.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET.
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The Wright State men’s basketball team defeated Kent State Saturday afternoon at the Wright State Nutter Center 63-54.  WSU is now 6-4 while KSU drops to 5-5.

Game Breakdown
First Half (31-24)
*Kent State jumped out to a 5-0 lead but the Raiders bounced right back on three free throws by senior Grant Benzinger and a rebound basket from freshman Loudon Love.
*The lead bounced back and forth but the Raiders held the hand for more than 13 minutes.
*WSU had six points from Benzinger, Parker Ernsthausen and Jaylon Hall with five from Mark Hughes.
*Justin Mitchell grabbed five rebounds as WSU led the boards 18-14.
*The Raiders shot 38% while forcing 10 Kent State turnovers.
*Kent State his six threes, led by Jalen Avery with six points.

Second Half (63-54)
*The second period started off with hustle and a dunk by Love.
*WSU played seven players with four finishing in double-figure points: Benzinger 13, Ernsthausen and Hall 11 each and Winchester 10.
*Mitchell ended in double-figure rebounding with 11 boards.
*The Raiders shot 38.5% from the field (20-52) but lost the boards 36-31.
*Kent State had 24 turnovers on nine Raider steals.

Key Numbers
*The Raiders outscored the Flashes in the pain 30-20 and off the bench 21-16.

Next Up
Wright State has the week off as they travel to Toledo next Saturday for a 2 pm game.

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — Earlham College and Manchester University squared off in early Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon.  The Spartans used a strong third quarter and Earlham’s late rally in the fourth fell just short as the Quakers fell by a final score of 64-58.

EC got off to a strong start in the game, leading 13-10 after the first quarter of play.  Zoe Curtis scored seven of her 17 points in the first period to pace a balanced Earlham attack.

The Quakers and Spartans remained close the remainder of the first half as Manchester tied the game at 24 after outscoring EC 14-11 in the second period.

Earlham got six points from Mariah Flynn, who scored 17 points in the contest, in the the third quarter.  Earlham trailed by by just five points heading into the fourth quarter.

A layup from Curtis cut Manchester’s lead to one, 46-45 with 7:42 remaining in the game.  The Spartans used a late push to build a 10-point lead with just over four minutes left to play.  The Quakers managed a late run that saw the deficit get cut to six points, however, Manchester converted late foul shot attempts to hang on for the win.

Earlham shot 22-51 (43.1%) from the floor for the game and outrebounded the Spartans 41-24.  Mariah Flynn finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.  Zoe Curtis added 17 points and six boards.

Earlham will hit the hardwood again on Saturday December 16 when the team travels to Cincinnati to face the Mount St. Joseph Lions.  Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

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NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – Earlham won a tightly contested game on the road against HCAC-foe Manchester University by a final score of 91-86 on Saturday December 9.

Darrell Hutchison Jr. started the game with a jump shot and Earlham got out to 10-9 lead six minutes into the contest.  Play through much of the first half was tight as neither team gained a significant advantage as the lead changed hands numerous times.  Earlham built its largest lead of the first half of six points at the 12:21 mark, 17-11, following a jump shot from Hutchison Jr.  The Spartans used a big 13-1 run to gain their biggest lead of the first half, taking an eight-point advantage over Earlham at the 9:36 mark.

The Quakers and Spartans picked up the offense in the final minutes of the opening period and Earlham cut Manchester’s lead down to just two points, 44-42, following a jumper from Kenneth Stalling Jr.

Manchester led by no more than three points in the second half and Earlham used timely baskets to outscore the Spartans 49-42 in the second period to earn the win.  The Quakers took a 10-point lead with just under six minutes left in regulation following a pair of free-throws from Tarig Eldosougi.

The Spartans clawed their way back into the game and made things interesting late.  Earlham led by just one point, 85-84, following a pair of layups by Manchester’s Adrian Johnson.  Darrell Hutchison Jr. made a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game, 87-84, with 54 seconds left in the game, but Manchester answered with a layup of their own to keep the game close.  Austin Doliboa made a pair of free throws with 19 ticks left on the clock and Manchester’s game-tying attempt was no good.  Earlham cleared the rebound and Elijah Wilson-Thomas made a pair of clutch free throws with two seconds left to clinch Earlham’s first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory of the season.

For the game, the Quakers shot 50.8% (33-65) from the floor, including 45.5% (5-11) from downtown.  Earlham College made good use of the foul line, sinking 20 of 26 (76.9%) attempts in the contest.  The Quakers also won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Manchester University 42-27.

EC was led by Elijah Wilson-Thomas‘ 28 points.  Wilson-Thomas made 5 of 8 three-point field goal attempts and went 7 of 8 from the free throw line.  Wilson-Thomas also added five rebounds and three assists.  Austin Doliboa also scored 20 points in the win, making 7 of 9 field goal attempts and converting 6 of 8 free throw attempts. He added nine rebounds as well. Darrell Hutchison Jr.added 16 points and five boards and Chainey Zolman finished with a double double, scoring 13 points and hauling in 12 boards.

The win improved Earlham to 3-5 and 1-2 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play this year.  Manchester fell to 1-7 and 0-3 HCAC.  Earlham will have a week to prepare for Mount St. Joseph.  The Quakers will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio on December 16 for a 4 p.m. tipoff with the Lions.

Lady Tigers Down Denison

GRANVILLE, Ohio—Wittenberg men’s hoops moved to 8-0 (4-0) on the year after dismantling Denison on their home floor; 86-55. The Tigers led by as many as 42 in the game, and shot 55% from the floor and 52% from beyond the three-point line as a team. The Tiger’s defense forced Denison into uncomfortable sets all afternoon, as the Big Red shot 16-50 (32%) from the floor. Wittenberg was led by Mitchell Balser, who scored 18 points, including 14 first half points. The Tigers take a break from NCAC play, returning to action on December 20 at Heidelberg.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Wittenberg hit the ground running in Granville, opening the game with an 18-4 run, capped off by a James Johnson layup. After a Big Red timeout, Wittenberg extended their early lead to 23-7 before Denison cut the Tiger’s lead down to 23-19 with 9:05 remaining in the first half. Wittenberg would go up 33-19 with 5:50 remaining in the opening frame, as the Tigers took a 46-26 lead into the locker-room at the break. The second half was all Wittenberg, extending their lead to 59-28 after a Landon Martin and-one layup with 15:38 remaining in the contest. Chris Sloneker pulled down an offensive rebound minutes later for the Tigers, putting in the uncontested put-back with 12:49 remaining as the Tigers went up 30 over Denison; 64-34. Wittenberg would go up 42 over the Big Red with 9:21 remaining at 79-37 after a Jacob Bertemes and-one layup was good, connecting on the free throw moments later. The Tigers emptied the bench the rest of the second half, and continued to dominate Denison, winning at the final buzzer by the score of 86-55.

WHO STOOD OUT: Balser (18), Chad Roy (12), Connor Seipel (12), Bertemes (10) and Martin (10), rounded out the Tiger’s double-digit scorers in the blow-out. Jordan Pumroy, Seipel, Roy and Johnson all pulled down five rebounds for the Tigers. Pumroy and Balser facilitated the offense all afternoon, dishing out five assists each.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: The Tigers lit it up from deep, connecting on 11 of their 21 three-point attempts, including an 8-13 clip in the first half. The Big Red turned the ball over 20 times in the game, as Wittenberg was able to capitalize with 26 points off the Denison miscues. While the outside shooting for Wittenberg was next-level good, the red and white handled their business down in the trenches, outscoring Denison in the paint 40-10. In a game where Denison never led on their home floor, the Tigers outrebounded Denison 35-30.

UP NEXT: Wittenberg hits the road for a non-conference tilt against the Student Princes of Heidelberg on December 20. Tip-off from Tiffin is set for 3:00 P.M.