Tim Ibukunoluwa's 23 and Brendan Coyle's Six Threes Lead Siena Past Dayton 99-89

DAYTON, Ohio. Four Siena starters scored in double figures, the Saints went 28 of 33 at the free throw line, and a program that Siena's own preview called a perennial Atlantic 10 power went home with a loss. Siena beat Dayton 99-89 at UD Arena on Tuesday night, improving to 2-1 with a statement road win.

Tim Ibukunoluwa scored 23 points with seven rebounds. Brendan Coyle poured in 21 points on six 3-pointers. Trent Egbiremolen had 20 points, nine rebounds and a perfect 12 of 12 at the line. Pace Prosser played all 40 minutes and finished with 17 points, 11 assists, four rebounds and three steals without a turnover.

Dayton actually shot it better. The Flyers went 36 of 66 from the field (55 percent), 11 of 30 from 3, piled up 23 assists, 19 fast-break points and 48 points in the paint, and still lost, because they turned it over 18 times, went 6 of 12 at the line and could not get Siena off the stripe down the stretch.

Fifteen lead changes, and a 3 to take the half

Aiden Derkack opened the night with a 25-foot 3, and Dayton led 8-2 after a Grant Randall 3. Then Coyle got loose. He hit 27-footers on back-to-back possessions and a 26-footer at 16:20 that put Siena in front 11-10, the first of 15 lead changes, according to ESPN.

The first half would not sit still. Ibukunoluwa dunked Siena back in front, Prosser hit a 23-footer for a 23-18 lead, and Dayton tied it at 25 on a Jaiun Simon 3. Siena pushed it to 36-30 on a Prosser driving layup, and Dayton answered with an 8-0 burst. Derkack scored six points in that stretch, including a dunk at 3:02, and the Flyers led 42-38.

Siena did not flinch. Ibukunoluwa scored inside, Reid Ducharme finished a layup, and Coyle, already having a night from deep, knocked down a 26-footer from Prosser with 27 seconds left to send the Saints into the locker room up 46-45.

Dayton takes the lead, then Siena rips off a 15-5 run

The Flyers came out of the half and took the lead back. Derkack made two free throws for a 49-48 edge, and Tristian Ford, who did not miss a shot all night, buried 24-foot 3s at 16:59 and 16:14 to make it 55-52.

Siena's answer was a 15-5 punch. Coyle tied it with a 25-footer. Egbiremolen scored inside. Ducharme hit a 25-footer, Tan Yildizoglu hit a 27-footer, Egbiremolen scored again, Yildizoglu hit another 3, and Ibukunoluwa dunked at 10:39 to make it 70-60, Siena's largest lead to that point.

Dayton still had a run in it. Amal L'Etang hit a 3, Ford hit another, and L'Etang's jumper at 8:20 pulled the Flyers within 70-68. That was as close as it got in the last eight minutes.

The free throw game takes over

Ibukunoluwa scored inside, Derkack answered, and Egbiremolen and Ibukunoluwa started going to the line. Ford hit a 26-footer at 5:00 to make it 77-73, but Ibukunoluwa dunked again at 3:23, and Coyle, from 28 feet, pushed it to 82-75 with 3:02 left.

From there, Siena closed it at the stripe. Egbiremolen, Prosser and Yildizoglu combined to make a pile of free throws in the last two minutes. Dayton got a Derkack three-point play and a late Ford 3, and L'Etang dunked at the horn, but the Flyers never got the stop they needed. The final was 99-89.

Coyle from deep, Egbiremolen at the line, Prosser everywhere

Coyle went 6 of 9 from 3 and 6 of 10 overall for 21 points, adding seven rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes. Ibukunoluwa went 8 of 16 and 7 of 8 at the line for 23 points in 36 minutes. Egbiremolen was 4 of 12 from the field and still scored 20 because he was 12 of 12 at the line, with nine rebounds, two assists and three steals and zero turnovers.

Prosser's line was the one that held it together: 17 points, 11 assists, three steals, four rebounds, zero turnovers, 40 minutes. Ducharme added 11 points. As a team, Siena had 14 steals and 20 points off Dayton's 18 turnovers, and those 28 made free throws were the difference on a night when Dayton outshot them from the field.

Derkack's double-double is not enough

Derkack led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds, adding four assists and three steals, and he fouled out. Ford might have played the cleanest offensive game of the night, going 8 of 8 from the field and 5 of 5 from 3 for 21 points. It was not enough, because the rest of the Dayton shots that had to fall late did not, and because the Flyers could not stay out of foul trouble.

Landen Joseph had eight points and eight assists but went 4 of 14 and 0 of 7 from 3. Randall had seven points, seven rebounds, four assists and five blocks. L'Etang scored nine with three blocks. Dayton blocked nine shots and still could not turn that into a win at home.

What It Means

Siena is 2-1, 1-1 on the road, and just beat an Atlantic 10 program in its own building, a place the Saints' official preview called the site of some of the program's most memorable March Madness moments. This was not a sneak-in. Siena led for 73 percent of the game, according to ESPN, even through all those lead changes, and the Saints made 11 3s and almost every free throw that mattered.

Dayton falls to 1-2 and 1-2 at home. The Flyers did a lot of things that win games, including a near-perfect night from Ford and a double-double from Derkack, and they still got run down by a Siena team that was tougher with the ball and much better at the line.

For the full numbers, see the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play (opens in a new tab), plus Siena's game preview (opens in a new tab).

Sources: ESPN, Siena Athletics. More men's college basketball coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Lisa Schlager Photography / Siena Athletics