DAYTON, Ohio — Enoch Cheeks scored 23 points as Dayton beat Ball State 77-69 on Wednesday night.
Cheeks had 12 rebounds and three steals for the Flyers (3-0). Malachi Smith scored 17 points while shooting 5 of 6 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line and added six rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals. Zed Key shot 4 of 5 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line to finish with 13 points.
The Cardinals (1-2) were led by Jermahri Hill, who posted 25 points and seven rebounds. Ethan Brittain-Watts added 16 points for Ball State. Mickey Pearson Jr. also put up 11 points.
Box score
BALL ST. (1-2)
Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Pearson 4-11 0-0 11, Sparks 0-1 4-4 4, Brittain-Watts 6-10 0-0 16, Hill 7-16 11-13 25, Hendriks 0-0 2-2 2, Hernandez 2-7 2-3 7, Burch 1-6 2-2 4, Gorosito 0-0 0-0 0, Hart 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 21-24 69.
DAYTON (3-0)
Key 4-5 5-6 13, Santos 0-5 4-8 4, Bennett 1-7 0-0 2, Cheeks 9-15 3-3 23, Smith 5-6 5-6 17, Alexander 1-5 0-0 2, Conner 0-0 3-4 3, Jack 5-5 1-2 11, L'Etang 1-4 0-0 2, Mousa 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-53 21-29 77.
Halftime: Dayton 41-26.
3-Point Goals: Ball St. 8-18 (Brittain-Watts 4-6, Pearson 3-6, Hernandez 1-3, Jones 0-1, Hill 0-2), Dayton 4-19 (Smith 2-2, Cheeks 2-5, Mousa 0-1, Alexander 0-2, L'Etang 0-2, Santos 0-3, Bennett 0-4).
Rebounds: Ball St. 29 (Hill 7), Dayton 34 (Cheeks 12).
Assists: Ball St. 10 (Hill 3), Dayton 17 (Smith 10).
Total Fouls: Ball St. 19, Dayton 17.
Attendance: 13,407 (13,435).
