Photo Gallery 

ST. LOUIS - Dayton held off a late Saint Louis challenge and defeated the Billikens 60-50 Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams.

Kyle Cassity and Mike McCall led the offensive effort for Saint Louis (5-9, 0-1) with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Rob Loe scored nine points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while Brian Conklin netted eight points.

Dayton (13-3, 1-0), which won for a sixth straight time and eighth time in nine outings, got game highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds from Chris Wright. Chris Johnson scored 13 points, Paul Williams collected 12 points and Juwan Staten distributed eight assists.

The Flyers shot 45.7 percent from the field, including 52 percent in the first half, and earned a 36-28 advantage on the boards. The Billikens connected on just 36.5 percent, a mark that was hampered by a 5-of-24 performance from 3-point range.

Dayton twice stretched an 11-point halftime lead to 15 before the Billikens made their charge, scoring on six of seven possessions in an 11-3 flurry to trim the deficit to seven. Dwayne Evans ignited the run with a jump hook, followed by a pair of Conklin free throws and a Cassity drive.

Loe's 3-pointer from the left wing whittled the UD lead to single digits at 45-36, and McCall followed with a steal and layup to make it 45-38 with 8:55 to play.

Dayton suffered four consecutive empty possessions, but SLU failed to capitalize. The Flyers finally ended their drought on Wright's three-point play to re-establish a double-double margin, 48-38. After Cassity nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing, UD sank three free throws on their next two possessions to claim a 51-41 edge with 3:14 left.

Conklin provided a spark when he rebounded Cassity's 3-point attempt, made a layup and completed a three-point play. Dayton followed with two free throws, but Cody Ellis' trey from the left corner made it a two-possession game, 53-47, at the 2:18 mark.

The teams traded free throws, and the Dayton lead was 54-48 with 1:46 remaining. The Billikens forced a turnover, but McCall's driving layup attempt went in and out. Johnson drove for a layup on the ensuing UD possession, then made two free throws following a Saint Louis miss that iced the victory for the visitors.

Johnson tallied five of his seven first-half points in a 7-0 Dayton spurt to begin the game, and SLU didn't score until Loe made a third-chance layup with 13:42 remaining. The UD lead alternated between five and seven points until Conklin's traditional three-point play at the 10:20 mark made it 13-9.

The Flyers expanded their lead to nine points on three occasions, the final time a 22-13 cushion. Cassity's trey and Paul Eckerle's baseline drive for a layup narrowed the gap to 24-18. A Cassity drive following two Dayton free throws drew the Billikens back to within six with 3:41 left, but a 7-2 run gave the Flyers a 33-22 advantage at the break.

The Billikens are back in action Sunday, Jan. 9, at Temple. Tip time at the Liacouras Center is 1 p.m. (CT).