UMass’ Mitchell stars in loss
Staff Writer
AMHERST, MASS. — The Dayton Flyers saw the future Saturday. They beat Massachusetts 71-63 at the Mullins Center, sweeping the season series for the second straight season, but witnessed the league’s best freshman, Tre Mitchell, go head to head with the league’s best player, Obi Toppin, and more than hold his own.
Mitchell, who scored 30 points against Rhode Island two games earlier, scored 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in 32 minutes. Toppin scored 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in 31 minutes.
The two dueled for most of the game, and Toppin sat out a six-minute stretch in the second half after pick- ing up his third foul while guarding Mitchell.
“He’s a really good player,” Toppin said. “They give him the ball every single possession. Some are going to go in, and some won’t. We’re going to play our regular defense. If his shot is falling, it’s just falling. We’re just going to have to do a better job the next time.”
Around the A-10: Davidson (13-11, 7-5) recorded its best victory of the A-10 season Friday, routing St. Bonaventure 93-64 in Olean, N.Y. The Bonnies (17-9, 9-4) saw a four-game winning streak end.
Award news: Toppin was one of 30 named to the midseason watch list for the Naismith Trophy, one of the national player of the year awards. He was one of two from the A-10 on the list, along with Rhode Island guard Fatts Russell.
Toppin was one of 12s named to the midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, which is the national player 0f the year award presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Toppin is also one of 10 finalists for the Karl Malone Award, which honors the nation’s top power forward.
Recruiting update: Tony Sanders, a 6-7 forward in the class of 2020, visited UD earlier this month. He’s a senior at Gulliver Prep in Miami. Dayton offered him a scholarship last May.
Future Flyers: Dayton signed three 2020 recruits in November. Here’s a glance at how they’re doing this season:
■ Lukas Frazier: The 6-foot-4 guard from Mentor Lake Catholic committed to Dayton in June. Through 18 games, he’s averaging 20.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, according to Lake Catholic coach Matt Moran. The team is 12-6 and can clinch the North Coast League title Friday if it beats Villa Angela-St. Joseph.
■ Koby Brea: The 6-6 guard is a senior at Monsi- gnor Scanlan High School in Bronx, N.Y. He committed to Dayton in October. He’s averaging 20-21 points per game along with 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists, according to Scanlan assistant coach Marcus Matthews.
Brea scored 27 points Tuesday in an 83-68 vic- tory against Stepinac, a team that includes North Carolina recruit R.J. Davis. Brea missed five games with a strained calf in December. His team has won five of its last six games and is 12-10 with two games to play in the regular season.
■ R.J. Blakney: The 6-6 guard from Baltimore is at Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. He committed to Dayton in October. He’s averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals.