Center Steve McElvene missed the game with a viral infection, giving Miller a chance to play more minutes. He made 3 of 4 3-pointers and had two rebounds in 15 minutes.
This was Miller’s most productive game since he scored 10 against Massachusetts on Jan. 6. He scored a total of seven points in the last seven games and didn’t play in three of them.
“I’ve just been working hard and staying ready,” Miller said. “I knew I would be ready to go.”
With a week between games, the Dayton coaches worked extra with the four true freshmen. Miller spent time practicing pick-and-pop shooting and his 3-point form.
“They’re putting us in situations where we can work on conditioning so when we get minutes we can be ready to go,” Miller said.
Rebounding edge: Miller said the Flyers knew Friday night they wouldn't have McElvene. He said his status will be day to day going forward. Even without McElvene, Dayton out-rebounded George Mason 41-24.
The Patriots entered with the best rebounding margin in the Atlantic 10 Conference (plus 7.5). George Mason center Shevon Thompson, the A-10’s leading rebounder (10.3 per game), had six rebounds. Scoochie Smith led Dayton with eight rebounds. Dyshawn Pierre had seven.
“George Mason does a great job on the glass,” Miller said. “Their front line is as physical as any we’ve seen.”
Quote of the night: First-year George Mason coach Dave Paulsen called the Flyers the best team his team has faced this season and said they put together a complete performance.
Next game: Dayton plays Duquesne at 7 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena. The Flyers beat the Dukes 66-58 in their A-10 opener Jan. 2 in Pittsburgh.
Duquesne (15-8, 5-5) had won five of six games — beating Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure, George Mason, La Salle and Saint Louis again — before losing 93-82 at home to Davidson (13-8, 5-5). The Dukes are 0-5 against teams in the top seven in the conference.
Around the A-10: St. Joseph's (19-4, 8-2) bounced back from an 83-73 loss at home to St. Bonaventure by beating Fordham 82-60 in Bronx, N.Y., on Saturday. The third-place Hawks trail Dayton (19-3, 9-1) and Virginia Commonwealth (17-6, 9-1) by a game.
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