Flyers top Findlay in first exhibition

The University of Dayton Flyers topped the Findlay Oilers 77-58 at UD Arena on Saturday afternoon in both teams' first exhibition game of the pre-season. The Flyers were led by freshman forward Jalen Robinson who had game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Robinson shot 8-of-10 from the field and was a force down low for UD. He scored 12 points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting and seven points in the second half on 3-of-4 shooting. Preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 guard Kevin Dillard scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and dished out seven assists. Dillard's backcourt mate, Vee Sanford, equaled him with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Many of Dillard's assists went to Josh Benson, including a couple of alley-oops. The senior forward scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting and hauled in seven rebounds in his first action against an opposing team since tearing the ACL in his left knee last December.

Dayton started the game hot as the Flyers converted eight of their first 13 shots and led the Oilers 18-13 with 11:43 left in the first half. Findlay cut the lead to 20-19 after a three-pointer by Dylan Kaufman with 10:35 remaining in the first half. The Flyers responded by closing the half on a 17-4 run to lead Findlay 37-23 as the teams headed to the locker room.

UD started the second half just as well as they ended the first half. The Flyers went on a 17-6 run to open the half as the led the Oilers 54-29 with 15:46 left in the game. Findlay answered by going on a 13-1 run to cut the Flyer lead to 55-42 with 12:48 left. UD pushed the lead back to 74-53 after a tip-in by Devon Scott with 1:55 remaining in the game.

Overall, the Flyers shot 28-of-57 from the field (49.1%) and dominated the Oilers 48-10 in points in the paint. UD also dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Oilers 46-28 and outscoring them 15-0 on fast break points. The Flyer defense forced Findlay into shooting just 16-of-51 from the field (31.4%).

Dayton's second and final exhibition of 2012-13 is on Sunday, Nov. 4 against Walsh at 7 p.m. ET. The Flyers open the season at home against Arkansas State on Saturday, Nov. 10.