North Texas Mean Green vs Dayton Flyers Box Score on Dec 17, 2019

Jalen Crutcher and Ryan Mikesell each scored 16 points to lead No. 13 Dayton to a 71-58 win over visiting North Texas on Tuesday.

Dayton's leading scorer, sophomore forward Obi Toppin, was held to 11 points -- 10 below his season average. He did add a team-leading seven rebounds and six assists.

Javion Hamlet led the Mean Green (4-7) with 19 points. Zachary Simmons added 18 points and six boards.

Dayton (9-1) forced 20 turnovers and led wire to wire.

Down by 15 at halftime, North Texas opened the second half by outscoring Dayton 14-9 to trim its deficit to 43-33. The Flyers pushed the lead back to 15 on Ibi Watson's 3-pointer with 12:29 left.

The Mean Green later went on a 7-0 run to get within 52-42. Jhery Matos answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but North Texas still had hope when Thomas Bell's 3-pointer made the score 66-56 with 1:57 left.

The Mean Green had two chances to cut into the deficit, but James Reese missed a 3-point attempt, and a turnover led to a Toppin dunk with 47 seconds to go.

Crutcher and Mikesell staked the Flyers to a 6-0 lead. Hamlet got the Mean Green on the board, but the Flyers scored the next eight points to take a 14-2 advantage.

The lead grew to 30-15 on a 3-point jumper by Mikesell with under five minutes to go in the half. The Flyers maintained that advantage and took a 34-19 lead into intermission.

Crutcher scored nine first-half points as the Flyers shot 46.2 percent from the field while holding the Mean Green to just 32 percent shooting. On the night, Dayton ended up at 50 percent from the floor while North Texas made 39.6 percent.

The Flyers, who were averaging 86.3 points per game, third best in the nation, wound up 15 points below their average.

--Field Level Media