Rhode Island Starters
Russell, Sheppard, Betrand, Walker, Makhel Mitchell
 
Dayton Starters
Watson, Crutcher, Weaver, Amzil, Tshimanga
 
How it Happened
A frustrating second half hurt Rhode Island as the Rams lost on the road to Dayton, 67-56, Saturday afternoon.

Rhode Island (9-9, 6-5 Atlantic 10) led for most of the first half, thanks to a solid, fundamental effort. Though there were four lead changes, the Rams led by as many as nine points and never trailed by more than one point. Overall, Rhody led for 16:56 of the first half as both sides shot 43.3 percent from the floor.

The second half belonged to Dayton, as the Flyers (10-4, 6-3 A-10) opened the period on a 15-0 run. Rhode Island missed its first 11 shots of the half until D.J. Johnson banked a jump shot with 12:45 to go. The basketball snapped a scoreless stretch of 10:11 that began late in the first half.

Dayton pushed its lead to as many as 16 points. The Rams briefly got it back to single digits when Malik Martin hit a 3-pointer with 3:17 remaining, but the outcome was never truly in doubt.

Inside the Box Score

• Rhode Island had just three turnovers in the first half, which led to a 7-2 edge in points off turnovers. Dayton had 15 points off turnovers after halftime and finished with a 17-12 advantage.
• Senior Jeremy Sheppard scored a team-high 16 points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds. It was his third straight game in double figures.
• Sophomore Makhel Mitchell added 12 points and tied Sheppard's six rebounds.
• It was his eighth game in double figures.
• Senior Fatts Russell was limited to four points in just 19 minutes. He suffered a foot injury in the first half.
• Russell became the 17th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points.
• Junior Malik Martin had eight points, five rebounds and one assist off the bench.
• Junior Jermaine Harris was solid in the first half. He provided five points and two assists in 11 minutes.
• Redshirt sophomore Jalen Carey had five points and two blocked shots.
• Rhode Island's bench outscored Dayton 11-0 in the first half.
• The Rams had four blocked shots in the first half, getting two from Carey, one from redshirt junior D.J. Johnson and one from Mitchell. The team had no blocks in the second half.

Up Next
Rhode Island returns home to the Ryan Center Wednesday, Feb. 3, when it hosts VCU. The game will air on Cox/YurView and ESPN+.