Dillard's 20 lead Dayton to win over Auburn

By foxsports
Published

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Kevin Dillard had 20 points and Jalen Robinson scored all 12 of his points in the second half to lead Dayton to a 73-63 victory over Auburn for fifth place at the Charleston Classic on Sunday.

The Flyers (3-1) finished the eight-team tournament with consecutive victories, defeating Boston College here on Friday night before toppling the Tigers of the Southeastern Conference. Dayton used a 13-2 run to close the first half and take control.

Auburn (2-2) led 23-22 when Dillard began Dayton's decisive run with a pair of foul shots. Freshman Devon Scott added six points in the surge and when Matt Derenbecker hit a 3-pointer 47 seconds before halftime, the Flyers were up 35-25. Dayton led by as many as 16 points in the second half.

Frankie Sullivan had 23 points to lead the Tigers, although he was 6-of-15 overall and made just one 3-pointer.

Dillard overcame a scary second-half fall, crashing hard to the court and remaining there while trainers took a look. He eventually limped to the bench and went to the locker room for additional treatment. After keeping ice on his left knee, Dillard got his leg wrapped and returned to help Dayton close the game. He finished with a season high for points and made 12 of 14 from the foul line.

Devin Oliver also had 12 points for the Flyers. Robinson added seven rebounds.

Rob Chubb scored 11 points for Auburn and Noel Johnson had 10. The Tigers struggled from way outside, making just 4 of 16 3-point attempts.

Auburn and Dayton each bounced back from opening losses in the tournament with victories in their next games. The Flyers of the Atlantic 10 Conference defeated Boston College 87-71 on Friday behind the perfect shooting of freshman Dyshawn Pierre, who had 23 points and went 8-of-8 from the field.

The Tigers rebounded from a dreadful 79-59 loss against Murray State -- Auburn trailed by 36 points in that one -- to outlast the College of Charleston 55-51 on Friday night.

Sullivan had to be taken off the court Thursday night to get 20 stitches to close a nasty gash after crashing into scorer's table. But he was back to lead Auburn to victory over the Cougars with 20 of his 24 points coming after halftime.

It was Sullivan's 3-pointer with six minutes left in the first half that put Auburn ahead 23-22. That's when the Flyers took over with their go-ahead 13-2 run.

Once Dayton stretched things out, Auburn couldn't get closer than 10 points in the second half.