Mikesell, Williams step up to the task for Dayton

BY PAUL GOTHAM

OLEAN, N.Y. — Thirty-one-plus points and 10 rebounds sat on the bench recovering from injuries. Their teammates turned in a dominating second-half performance.

One should expect nothing less from the University of Dayton men’s basketball team which under sixth-year head coach Archie Miller has made rolling with the punches into standard operating procedure.

Five Flyers topped double figures including sophomores Ryan Mikesell and Xeyrius Williams as UD improved to 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 and 11-3 overall with a 90-74 road victory over St. Bonaventure, Tuesday night.

Trailing by seven late in the first half, the Flyers connected five times behind the arc and outscored St. Bonaventure by 11 to take a 35-31 lead into the locker room.

“I think when we called timeout when they had a run in the first half, we were fighting the passing game again,” Miller said. “It’s where we’re bull-headed, driving in there and trying to get layups and getting them blocked. At some level, you have to be smart and spray the ball, make it move.”

Kyle Davis, who finished with 16 points, connected on back-to-back trips from behind the arc. Mikesell gave UD a brief with another triple. Sam Miller added another three, and the Flyers did not trail again.

“Ryan and Sam were in there for a stretch and they banged a couple” Miller added. “It opens up the floodgates when you get a ball to go in.”

After scoring on just seven of their first 22 possessions and committing six turnovers in the early going, UD hit 15 of 19 coming out of the locker room and produced points on 25 of 34 second-half trips down the floor.

“I thought our guys felt pretty good about knowing what to do in the second half,” Miller noted. The second half, the ball moved much better.”

Mikesell and Williams combined for 14 points and two assists as Dayton pushed their advantage to double digits.

Mikesell drilled his second trey of the evening and followed with a drop step in the lane and bucket. Williams converted a two-on-one break with Scoochie Smith then returned the favor leading Smith for two of his 17 points.

After a pair of empty trips, Mikesell fed Williams in the post for a deuce. Williams followed with a three of his own, and Mikesell scored underneath. A John Crosby layup on the next possession made it a 56-46 Dayton advantage.

“I thought we really brought our hard hats,” Miller stated. “I think we’ve been working really hard lately to become a team that can win with togetherness and toughness. I thought about the six-minute mark it could’ve went a couple different ways for us and kids stepped up, made some big plays, ended up finishing the half well. That was a big key. And then in the second half shots were going in, which always makes you feel good.”

UD connected on 14 of 23 three-point attempts. This after shooting just 3-of-22 at home in their 66-55 win over La Salle last Friday.

“It’s an extreme high today. It was an extreme low against La Salle. We’re looking for one in the middle. For whatever reason we’re a little looser on the road than we are at home; I don’t know why that is. But we have some guys who can shoot the ball, and when our frontcourt in particular can make them I think it frees some things up for us, and that’s been a big key for us all season. Xeyrius, Ryan and Sam, you pop Kendall (Pollard) in there a little bit right now as well, being able to stretch the floor a little bit for us. You have some frontcourt players that are making them, that’s a little bit unique and somewhere in the middle, hopefully, somewhere in the middle for us.”

Charles Cooke (18.7/5.7) joined Josh Cunningham (12.5/4.5) on the bench. Cooke injured his tailbone when he fell during Friday’s matchup. He already suffered from a sore wrist.

“I don’t think he’s close to playing,” Miller said of Cooke. “He’s not 100 percent and if he’s not 100 percent right now we’re not forcing the action, so it is what it is. We’ll go into the next game and prepare to play without him.”

Cunningham tore a tendon in his ankle during the November 15th game against Alabama.

Mikesell scored a career-high 16 points on six of nine shooting from the floor and two of two from the free throw line. Williams netted 14, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out a career-high four assists.

“We’ve been able to do a lot this year without a lot of people,” Miller commented. “I think that’s the one thing that goes unnoticed a lot with us. He’s (Cooke) not the only one over there sitting on the bench; he hasn’t been the only one sitting on the bench all season. The guys just show up. There’s a toughness about a couple of these guys that’s been there through the years that they have a lot of pride in what we do.”

The Dayton program suffered the tragic loss of Steve McElvene in the off-season. Redshirt freshman Kostas Antetokounmpo was deemed a partial qualifier in late October. Last season, Dyshawn Pierre missed the fall semester as the result of an off-the-court accusation. Dayton advanced in the 2015 NCAA Tournament with just seven scholarship players – this after the dismissal of two players for off-the-court incidents.

Making the most of his minutes

Limited by foul trouble, Pollard played just 16 minutes. The senior forward poured in a  team-high 21 points on six of eight shooting including an eyebrow-raising three of three from long range.

“No,” Miller said when asked if Pollard is expected to produce more behind the arc. “Yeah, I’m a little disappointed about the foul trouble, he‘s reaching a lot and committing a lot of over-aggressive fouls. We need him on the floor, he’s a good player. Him making three-point shots isn’t clearly what the game plan is. He finds himself open for a reason. I tell him he’s kinda trying to prove me a little bit wrong right now.”

Up Next

Dayton will host Rhode Island on Friday. ESPN 2 will televise the 7 pm tipoff.

***This article was updated 4:45 pm EST on January 5th, 2017 to reflect the corrections suggested in comments.