Grambling State Tigers vs Dayton Flyers Box Score on Dec 23, 2019

Junior guard Ibi Watson made four 3-pointers and all 10 of his free-throw attempts to finish with a game-high 30 points while Rodney Chatman poured in 17 to go with six assists to lift No. 18 Dayton to a 81-53 rout over visiting Grambling on Monday night.

The Flyers (10-2) rode a hot shooting effort from beyond the arc to get back in the win column following a Saturday defeat to Colorado. Dayton shot 8-for-19 from 3-point range and 54 percent overall.

Kelton Edwards and Anthony Gaston led the Tigers (6-7) with 12 points apiece.

The Flyers built a 20-point lead early in the second half, but the Tigers responded by reeling off six straight to cut the gap to 48-34 following a jumper from Edwards.

With the score 54-44 and eight minutes remaining, Watson hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 6-0 run that essentially put the game out of reach. A few minutes later, Watson produced a four-point play that padded the lead to 69-48.

After dropping from No. 13 (its highest ranking since 1967) to No. 18, Dayton avoided a second straight upset loss by building a 19-point lead in the first half.

The Tigers were the perfect tonic for Dayton's ills following a tough loss to the Buffaloes in Chicago in which the Flyers lost on a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime. Dayton led for 27:13 in that one but couldn't put away pesky Colorado.

That wasn't a problem on Monday against Grambling. The Flyers raced out to a 40-22 lead heading into halftime, shooting 14-for-27 from the field to offset a 9-for-17 showing from the free-throw line. The Tigers missed all 11 of their first-half 3-point attempts en route to a 32.3-percent shooting effort in the first 20 minutes.

--Field Level Media