, which hasn't lost since a 78-76 overtime defeat against Colorado on Dec. 21.The Flyers remain unbeaten in regulation this season after carrying the fifth-longest winning streak in Division I into the game.''We're trying to win a national championship,'' Crutcher said. ''We feel like that there's no team in the country, that's just like nobody, (we can't) beat. We feel like we can go and win a national championship, and we talk about that a lot.'' Tre Mitchell had a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds and Samba Diallo added 10 points for the Minutemen.UMass (10-15, 4-8) has dropped seven of 10. The Minutemen have lost 10 straight against top-10 teams, dating back to a 61-59 upset of No. 7 Connecticut on Dec. 29, 2004.''We were gonna hold the second-most offensive efficient team in the country to 60 points,'' Minutemen coach Matt McCall said. ''We were right there. Just that one stretch.'' Dibaji Walker's layup with 11:23 remaining brought the Minutemen back within 46-41 after the Flyers led by five at halftime. Crutcher then hit back-to-back 3-pointers, a layup and another 3 with 7:03 remaining to push Dayton's lead up to 14.''When I hit my first shot, that's when I was feeling it,'' Crutcher said. ''So it was on from there.'' After the Flyers led by as many as 16, UMass used a late 7-0 run to pull within single digits and trailed 67-61 after two Diallo free throws with 23 seconds to play.Toppin missed two free throws and Carl Pierre made a quick layup to make it 67-63 with 14 seconds to go. Crutcher made two free throws to help seal it and Pierre missed a desperation 3 in the closing seconds.Dayton led 31-26 at the break behind an 11-point first half for Toppin.Mitchell scored six of his team's first 10 points as UMass led 10-4 five minutes in. A 3-pointer by Mitchell made it 15-10 before Dayton rallied with a 15-0 run while holding the Minutemen scoreless over a nine-minute span.''For me, I didn't have anything to lose (today). I didn't,'' Mitchell said. ''I think a lot of people are gonna take notice of today's performance. It was just another opportunity for me.'' BIG PICTUREDayton: The Flyers will play three of their final six games at home as they aim to keep building momentum ahead of a first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2016-17 season. The Flyers are already two clear of last year's win total and would match the 2016-17 team with a victory next game.UMass: Three wins in five games had the Minutemen feeling good before this setback against Dayton. There was added buzz as they faced their highest-ranked home opponent since a game against No. 2 Saint Joseph on Feb. 25, 2004. UMass' last NCAA Tournament berth in 2014 came in the same season as its last Top 25 win, a 81-65 victory over then-No. 19 New Mexico on Nov. 22, 2013.NUGGETSThe Flyers swept the two-game season series with the Minutemen. Dayton earned a 88-60 home win over UMass in their first meeting on Jan. 11 behind Toppin's game-high 16 points and five steals.The Minutemen fell 58-46 against then-No. 7 Virginia on Nov. 23, a loss that snapped a five-game winning streak to open the season. UMass has struggled since with 15 losses in 20 games.HOT HANDSComing into the game, Dayton boasted the best field goal percentage (52.3 percent) in Division I and ranked second nationally in assists per game (18.3). The Flyers shot 52.9 percent (27 of 51) and had 18 assists against the Minutemen.''Today, we're happy to get the win. I think all of those guys in the locker room would tell you that we need to be better,'' Dayton coach Anthony Grant said.UP NEXTDayton: visits Virginia Commonwealth on Tuesday night.UMass: hosts Saint Louis on Tuesday night.---For more college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/-Top25)
Feb 13, 2020Dayton's climb up the national rankings is bringing newfound attention on the road for its program.The No. 6 Flyers are drawing big crowds on the road, with their next battle coming Saturday at Massachusetts in Atlantic 10 Conference action.The Flyers (22-2, 11-0) are the highest-ranked opponent to play at UMass since No. 2 Saint Joseph's on Feb. 25, 2004.The Flyers defeated UMass, 88-60, on Jan. 11 at Dayton.Dayton enters the conference showdown as one of the hottest teams in the country. With a 13-game winning streak and a 5-0 mark in road games this season, the Flyers have momentum on their side.Obi Toppin is becoming a must-see player in college basketball.The high-flying Toppin scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while adding three dunks to raise his season total to 80 in the win over Rhode Island on Tuesday. The Flyers are off to one of their best starts in program history, winning 22 of their first 24 games for the first time since 1957-58.Toppin said the Flyers had to make a statement against the Rams."We knew they were the No. 2 (team) in the conference, and we had to put a stamp on what we have going on," Toppin said.Dayton coach Anthony Grant, who notched his 250th career victory Tuesday, said his team must learn to keep its emotions in check as the season creeps closer to the NCAA Tournament. Seven technicals were handed out in the victory over Rhode Island, with Dayton's bench, Rodney Chatman and Trey Landers receiving techs."You hate to see a game with two really good teams marred by the number of technical fouls in the game," Grant said. "A lot of emotion. That's what's going to happen when two really good teams get together." The Minutemen (10-14, 4-7) are in the midst of a three-game homestand, defeating George Mason on Sunday to improve to 10-3 at home.UMass struggled in the first half in its previous meeting with Dayton, as the Flyers shot 59 percent in the first 20 minutes to cruise to the home win. The Minutemen had a rough showing in their last game, leading UMass coach Matt McCall to take out all five of his starters early against George Mason to send a message."We're not budging on the standard of effort," McCall said. "We didn't give great effort to start the game and that's ultimately how we took the lead in the first half, was our effort. Just playing hard. It's got to be that way every day." The Minutemen have struggled playing 40 minutes of basketball, thus falling into an early deficit or collapsing in the second half. They nearly squandered a big lead when George Mason scored 14 straight points in a four-minute stretch.Freshman center Tre Mitchell, who scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first meeting with Dayton, said the Minutemen can't avoid a letdown if they want to pull off an upset on Saturday."I think it's just our mindset because there's been so many times that we've blown a lead and then we just keep letting them go on their run," Mitchell said. "It's time to step up and not let this happen no more. So, it was just good we got that win." --Field Level Media
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