Watson breaks out of scoring slump in win
Dayton Flyers guard Ibi Watson described himself as an over-worker. Coaches sometimes have to kick him out of the gym. He would shoot all day if he could.
In recent weeks, Watson has resisted the urge to work his way out of a slump by shooting too much in practice. He stuck to his normal routine even after missing nine straight 3-pointers in the previous five games.
Watson missed his first two 3-pointers Tuesday in Dayton’s 62-55 victory at George Mason but made his third. He finished 1 of 4 from 3-point range but made all three of his field-goal attempts inside the arc, including the most important shot of the night, a jumper in traffic in the paint with 45 seconds remaining.
George Mason had just cut Dayton’s lead to 57-55 on a layup by Xavier Johnson. Watson’s shot gave No. 4 Dayton the cushion it needed in the final minute to avoid the upset.
“Usually, we try to get the ball to Jalen (Crutcher) in those situations,” Watson said. “He’s really good with the ball. They denied him. It was kind of next man up.
I felt I had a good matchup, and I tried to take advantage of it.”
Watson scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting in 23 minutes. It was his highest-scoring game since he had 14 points against Richmond on Jan. 25. That ended a seven-game streak in which he scored in double digits every game.
Dayton needed Watson’s production off the bench on a night when Ryan Mikesell, Rodney Chatman and Trey Landers combined for 17 points, about 10 below what they average as a group.
“I thought (Watson) came out with great confidence in the second half,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “He was able to see what was needed, and we needed a boost. The one he hit late was the biggest one of all. That was a big-time play.”
Watson talked to different people about his shooting slump and was reminded that everyone goes through it. That hasn’t made it any easier. He said it was a frustrating process, but it was good to see some shots fall as Dayton (26-2, 15-0) won its 17th straight game.
“I work so hard on my shot,” Watson said. “I always think every shot I take is going to go in. I’m just going to try to build on this.”
Key contributions:
Dwayne Cohill made two layups during an 8-0 run in the second half. In the last five games, he has made 9 of 10 shots from the field.
“Dwayne came out and did what he had to do to help the team win,” Dayton’s Obi Toppin said.
Looking ahead: Dayton plays Davidson (15-12, 9-6) at 7 p.m. Friday at UD Arena. ESPN2 will televise the game. Dick Vitale will be a part of the announcing team.
On Monday, Vitale shared a video on Twitter of him talking about the game. He said he called Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team handed Dayton one of its two losses, and asked about Dayton.
“They’re legit,” Self told Vitale. “They can shoot the 3. Obi Toppin is unbelievable.”
Dayton made a season-high 16 3-pointers in a 90-84 loss to Kansas in the Maui Invitational championship on Nov. 27. Kansas (253) returned to the top spot in the Associated Press poll this week.
Davidson has won four of its last five games and beat La Salle 74-49 on Tuesday. It is 7-1 at home and 2-5 on the road in A-10 play.
Contact this reporter at 937-244-7400 or email David.Jablonski@cmg.com.