Dayton pulled away from Bradley for an 80-66 win inside Carver Arena, using a dominant first half and a controlled second half to secure the victory. The Flyers improved to 24-11 while Bradley fell to 21-13.
Bradley scored first, but the lead didn't last long as Javon Bennett hit back-to-back three-pointers to give Dayton an early edge. A steal and fastbreak dunk from De'Shayne Montgomery quickly pushed the Flyers ahead by six, setting the tone with both shooting and defensive pressure.
From there, Dayton steadily built its lead with a balanced attack. Bryce Heard knocked down a three off the bench to make it a double-digit game, while Amael L'Etang and Jaiun Simon added points inside. Bradley briefly cut the deficit to six midway through the half, but couldn't sustain momentum. Dayton answered with another run, and Bennett closed the half with a late scoring burst, sending the Flyers into halftime with a 47-30 lead.
Out of the break, Bradley showed more energy and got an early three-pointer to fall, but Dayton quickly responded at the free throw line and with a jumper from Keonte Jones to stretch the lead to 20. The Flyers leaned on their defense early in the half, forcing misses and turnovers while slowly adding to their advantage at the line.
Midway through the half, Bradley began to heat up from deep and made its strongest push of the night. Back-to-back three-pointers helped trim the deficit, and the Braves cut the lead down to 13 after a flurry of outside shooting. However, Dayton answered again, this time behind Bryce Heard, who scored on a three, a layup, and a dunk during a key stretch to push the lead back out to 15.
Dayton continued to control the interior as well, getting timely second-chance points from L'Etang and finishes at the rim from Montgomery and Jones. Even as Bradley continued to connect from beyond the arc, the Flyers consistently had an answer, preventing the deficit from dropping into single digits for long.
With under five minutes to play, Dayton put the game away with a decisive run. A layup from Bennett followed by a dunk from Jones extended the lead back to 20, effectively snuffing out any comeback momentum.
Dayton shot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from three for the game, while also converting 21 of 25 free throws. Their efficiency and ability to respond to every Bradley run proved to be the difference.
Bennett led all scorers with 25 points, including a strong first-half performance that set the tone. Montgomery added 14 points with several key transition plays, while L'Etang contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. Heard provided a major lift off the bench with 12 points on perfect shooting.
For Bradley, Alex Huibregtse finished with 19 points and five three-pointers, leading the Braves' second-half surge. Montana Wheeler added 10 points, and Bradley finished with 10 made threes as a team, but turnovers and the early deficit were too much to erase.