Ball State Cardinals at Dayton Flyers
· NCAA Men's Basketball
77 - 78
Dayton opens Grant era with 78-77 win over Ball State
Tayler Persons' layup with three seconds to go put the Cardinals up 77-76 before Williams threw the ball down court and Cunningham made the winner.
Cunningham scored 22 points for Dayton, the defending Atlantic-10 regular season champion, which led 36-33 at halftime behind his 10 points. Cunningham was limited to 11 games last year because of an ankle injury. Darrell Davis scored 16 points, John Crosby added 13, and Williams, the top returning scorer from a year ago, scored eight with five assists.
Ball State took its first lead, 39-38, early in the second half and led by as many as seven before Davis hit a 3-pointer amid an 8-0 run for a 59-58 Flyers' lead.
Persons had 14 points and eight assists, Tahjai Teague scored 14 and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Zach Gunn had 11 points for the Cardinals, who were outscored 44-36 in the paint.
---
More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org
How can I watch Ball State vs. Dayton?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 77 - 78 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Josh Cunningham Steal. | 77 - 78 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Tayler Persons Turnover. | 77 - 78 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Josh Cunningham made Jumper. Assisted by Xeyrius Williams. | 77 - 78 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Ball State Timeout | 77 - 76 |
Statistics
 BALL |
 DAY |
|
|---|---|---|
| 31-67 | FG | 28-58 |
| 46 | Field Goal % | 48 |
| 9-27 | 3PT | 4-16 |
| 33 | Three Point % | 25 |
| 6-8 | FT | 18-23 |
| 75 | Free Throw % | 78 |
| 35 | Rebounds | 38 |
| 7 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 |
| 28 | Defensive Rebounds | 31 |
| 15 | Assists | 14 |
| 4 | Steals | 5 |
| 3 | Blocks | 2 |
| 12 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 12 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 18 | Points Off Turnovers | 9 |
| 17 | Fast Break Points | 17 |
| 36 | Points in Paint | 44 |
| 19 | Fouls | 15 |
| 7 | Largest Lead | 14 |
Game Information
Location: Dayton, OH
Attendance: 13,350 | Capacity:
2025-26 Mid-American Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (OH) | 18-0 | - | 32-2 |
| Akron | 17-1 | 1 | 29-6 |
| Kent State | 14-4 | 4 | 24-10 |
| Toledo | 11-7 | 7 | 19-15 |
| Bowling Green | 9-9 | 9 | 18-14 |
| Ohio | 9-9 | 9 | 15-17 |
| Buffalo | 7-11 | 11 | 17-15 |
| Massachusetts | 7-11 | 11 | 17-16 |
| Ball State | 7-11 | 11 | 12-19 |
| Central Michigan | 6-12 | 12 | 10-21 |
| Western Michigan | 4-14 | 14 | 10-21 |
| Eastern Michigan | 4-14 | 14 | 10-21 |
| Northern Illinois | 4-14 | 10 | 9-21 |
2025-26 Atlantic 10 Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Louis | 15-3 | - | 29-6 |
| VCU | 15-3 | - | 28-8 |
| Saint Joseph's | 13-5 | 2 | 24-12 |
| Dayton | 12-6 | 3 | 25-12 |
| George Mason | 11-7 | 4 | 23-10 |
| Davidson | 10-8 | 5 | 20-14 |
| Duquesne | 9-9 | 6 | 18-15 |
| George Washington | 8-10 | 7 | 19-16 |
| Fordham | 8-10 | 7 | 17-15 |
| Rhode Island | 7-11 | 8 | 16-16 |
| Richmond | 5-13 | 10 | 15-17 |
| La Salle | 5-13 | 10 | 9-23 |
| St. Bonaventure | 4-14 | 11 | 17-17 |
| Loyola Chicago | 4-14 | 11 | 9-24 |