Dayton tops Rhode Island for 13th straight victory

No. 6 Dayton led from start to finish against Rhode Island. The game wasn’t even as close as the final score, 81-67, indicated. The Flyers led by as many as 25 points in the second half.

Obi Toppin scored 22 points, outscoring his brother Jacob, a Rhode Island freshman, by 18. Obi dunked against Jacob in the second half and drew a foul.

Jalen Crutcher scored 21. Trey Landers had 10. The game was marred by 52 fouls, including seven technical fouls.

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Dayton (22-2, 11-0) now leads Rhode Island (18-6, 10-2) by 1½ games in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Every other team has at least three losses.

Dayton ended Rhode Island’s 10-game winning streak. The Rams have lost only to Richmond and Dayton in A-10 play.

HALFTIME RECAP

The Flyers opened the game with a 17-0 run and led Rhode Island 49-35 at halftime Tuesday at UD Arena.

Dayton made its first seven shots in the first five minutes. Crutcher hit two 3-pointers in that stretch. Rhode Island missed its first nine shots.

Crutcher led Dayton with 15 points in the half. Toppin scored 11. Rodney Chatman scored five. Dwayne Cohill, who did not play in the last game, missing the first game of his career, scored five points.

Tyrese Martin scored nine points for the Rams. Cyril Langevine and Jeff Dowtin each scored eight.

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Jacob Toppin scored four points. Obi blocked Jacob’s first shot attempt. In the final seconds of the half, Obi fouled Jacob, who made both free throws. The brothers hugged as the teams shook hands before the game.

There were 22 fouls in the first half and 30 free-throw attempts. Dayton made 12 of 13. Rhode Island made 11 of 17.

Dayton led by as many as 19 points. Rhode Island cut that deficit to nine points with just over a minute to play only to see Dayton go on a 7-0 run.