For the second straight game, when DaRon Holmes II saw his team staggering, he took command. After scoring only four points in the first half as his Dayton Flyers fell behind by two points at halftime, Holmes scored 25 in the second half to scorch Saint Louis, 70-65, UD's 11th straight win that lifted its record to 14-2 with a perfect 4-0 in the Atlantic 10.
The UD Flyers were strangely underdogs for a game Friday night at Duquesne, but whomever decided that didn't take into consideration what DaRon Holmes II can do and he showed it with 33 points and scored 13 of 15 points during a late-game spree that pushed the Flyers from a 4-point lead to a 14-point lead for a 72-62 win.
In an emotional-packed day, childhood friends Anthony Grant and Frank Martin did battle on the UD Arena floor and Grant led the Flyers from a big first-half lead to holding off Frank Martin's UMass team. The Flyers won their ninth straight, improved to 12-2 (2-0 in the Atlantic 10), then Martin was in tears after the game talking about his relationship with Grant.
It was expected that the University of Dayton Flyers would have their hands full in their Atlantic 10 Conference opener at Davidson, a team that had won seven in a row and was 7-and-0 at home in Belk Arena. But the Flyers didn't have their hands full, they won hands-down over the Wildcats, 72-59, whipping Davidson in every facet of the game of basketball.