DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points, DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each had 13 and No. 24 Dayton beat Lindenwood 73-46 in a sluggish opener for both teams on Monday night.
Dayton was without injured point guard Malachi Smith and didn’t play particularly well until late, but it had a large margin for error against Lindenwood, a school from St. Charles, Missouri, that was playing its first game after moving up to Division I.
Kobe Elvis and Mike Sharavjamts each had 10 points for the Flyers, and Toumani Camara had 11 rebounds.
Chris Childs had 15 points for the Lions, who shot 33% from the field.
Sharavjamts, the first native of Mongolia to get a D-I basketball scholarship, opened it for the Flyers when he hit a 3-pointer, then Blakney hit one as part of Dayton’s opening 10-2 run. By the Flyers didn’t make another from long range until Zimi Nwokeji connected with 7:09 left in the game.
Dayton led by as many as 17 points in the first half and had a 35-21 advantage at halftime.
Lindenwood scored the first five points of the second half but then went ice cold. The Flyers weren’t much better but finally ripped off a 17-2 run late and cruised the rest of the way.
BIG PICTURE
Lindenwood: The program is now part of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Lions graduated three starters from last year’s team and added three transfers. They haven’t had a winning season since finishing 16-13 in 2017-18.
Dayton: The Flyers, 24-11 last season, won their 18th straight opener. All five of last year’s starters returned this season, although Smith, who starred as a freshman last season, is sidelined. Sixth man Kobe Brea also is out with an injury.
UP NEXT
Lindenwood: Hosts Hannibal-LaGrange on Thursday.
Dayton: Hosts SMU on Friday night.
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