Dayton Flyers

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CINCINNATI – A 17-point effort from Juwan Staten wasn’t enough as the University of Dayton Flyers dropped an 81-76 road decision to the Xavier Musketeers.

Chris Johnson scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half and Josh Benson scored a career high 11 points.

Chris Wright tallied his fourth double-double in the last five games after recording 10 points and 10 boards. Paul Williams scored 10 points as Dayton dropped to 14-5 overall and 2-2 in the Atlantic 10.

The Flyers had a chance to tie it at the end. Down 79-76 with 18 seconds to play, Williams missed a three and Matt Kavanaugh couldn’t follow through with a putback on the offensive rebound. Xavier iced the game with two free throws down the stretch.

UD was within one for the final three minutes of the game. Staten cut the deficit with a layup at 75-72. After a XU turnover, Benson added a putback bucket to trim the Xavier lead to one with 1:02 remaining.

Yet the Musketeers answered with a bucket on their end to extend the lead back to three. Staten drew a Xavier foul and got to the line hitting both and making it a one-point game again.

The Flyers shot 51 percent from the field and held a 30-25 edge on the glass. However, Xavier hit 25-of-29 free throws and connected on 53 percent of its field goals.

UD is the first team this season to shoot better than 50 percent against Xavier. Staten and Johnson both shot 6-of-10 from the field. Benson went 5-for-6 from the floor.

In the first half, Benson scored nine, while Williams added seven as UD led 32-31. Johnson was in foul trouble early, but the Flyers still shot 52 percent from the field and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Dayton returns home to face the Fordham Rams on Saturday, Jan. 22 beginning at 7 p.m. ET.