The Dayton Flyers outshot Siena on Tuesday night and lost anyway, falling 99-89 at UD Arena as the Saints decided the game at the free-throw line, according to the University of Dayton’s official recap.
Dayton trailed by just one point at halftime, but Siena pulled away by as much as 12 in the second half to hand the Flyers their second loss of the young season, Dayton Athletics reported. Dayton is now 1-2, and Siena improved to 2-1.
Freshman Aiden Derkack led Dayton with 25 points and 10 rebounds, his third consecutive double-double to open his career — the first Flyer to do that since DaRon Holmes II in March 2024, according to Dayton Athletics. Sophomore Tristian Ford added 21 points on a perfect shooting night, going 8-for-8 from the field and 5-for-5 from three-point range.
The Flyers shot 54.5 percent from the field to Siena’s 44.8 percent, but the free-throw line told the story, Dayton Athletics reported. Dayton went just 6-for-12 at the line, while Siena went 28-for-33 — including 24-for-26 in the second half.
The loss closes a difficult opening stretch at home for Dayton, which had won its opener before dropping two straight. Siena arrived at 1-1 after an 82-68 win over Princeton behind 30 points from Tim Ibukunoluwa, according to the Associated Press, and got the road win despite being outshot, by converting its foul shots and building the game’s biggest lead after halftime. Dayton had sold out its previous 96 home games entering the night, BVM Sports reported in its preview.
Derkack’s start remains the bright spot: three double-doubles in his first three college games, a feat no Flyer had matched in more than two years, according to the university’s recap.
What happens next: Dayton stays home to host Cincinnati at UD Arena on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m., in the Bearcats’ first road game of the season, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The game will stream on ESPN+.
Photo: Mhester22, CC BY-SA