DAYTON, Ohio – The La Salle men's basketball team gave a valiant effort in one of the nation's toughest venues and had the host Flyers on the ropes in the second half but eventually lost to Dayton, 59-44, at UD Arena. Junior Jordan Price led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists while playing all 40 minutes.
 
The Flyers have now won 19 straight A-10 games at UD Arena and 34 of their last 35 in the building. But with 11:05 to play, La Salle was within three at 42-39 after a Price three-pointer.
 
Dayton (18-3, 8-1 A-10), which lost its only A-10 game this season on January 9 at La Salle, answered with a 17-3 run over the next nine minutes to put the game out of reach.
 
"We were playing one of the best teams in the country in one of the toughest places to play in the country," head coach Dr. John Giannini said. "Our kids did everything they could."
 
"I'm proud of our guys and I see individual improvement," Giannini continued. "The experience these kids are getting and the progress they are making, when we add three to five more good players, it is going to be a very good team."
 
Kendall Pollard, who missed the team's previous meeting at Gola Arena, led the Flyers with 18 points and eight rebounds. Dyshawn Pierre had 13 points and nine boards while Kyle Davis added 12.
 
Sophomore Tony Washington was the only other Explorer in double-figures with 10 points. He grabbed eight rebounds.
 
Price moved closer to the 1,000 point mark as an Explorer and now has 959 points in the Blue and Gold. He has 1,104 as a collegian, counting his time at Auburn.
 
The Explorers led in the early going after a 10-0 run following Dayton's first basket made it 12-2 in favor of the visitors. The lead reached nine points at 14-5 with 11:54 until halftime but Dayton followed with a 24-6 run to take control of the game.
 
La Salle (5-14, 1-7 A-10) returns to Gola Arena to host VCU on Wednesday at 7 PM.