Dayton picks up first career win for Bankhead

Dayton Head Coach Rodrick Bankhead got the first of many career wins as a basketball coach, and the Broncos moved to 1-1 on the season with a nice 60-54 win over Baytown Lee on Friday night at the Ganders Gym.

“It was a fight, but I’m glad we got it done,” said Bankhead.

Dayton quickly jumped out in front thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Houston Gault to give his team a 6-2 lead. Later in the opening quarter, AJ Tompkins connected from downtown, and the Broncos led 13-5. Just before the end of the period, Gault scored on a nice drive to make it 15-6.

The lead ballooned to double digits early in the second quarter with a three-pointer by Donavan Orebo to run the advantage to 20-9. Camron Cooper hit the offensive boards and scored, and the score was 25-13. Gault then ended the first half with a trey to lead 28-15 at the break.

The Broncos started the second half on a 12-4 run to run the advantage to 40-19 with a three-point play by Orebo. The Ganders then came alive and went on a 13-0 run to close within 40-32. Dayton would lead 41-34, heading into the fourth quarter of play. Tompkins scored on a spin move to make it 43-34, and then Cooper scored off an assist from CJ Hubert with 5:30 remaining to make it a 47-35 game.

Lee closed within 52-45 until a big bucket by Orebo made it 54-45 with 1:45 to play. The Ganders kept fighting and closed the gap to 57-54, and had the ball before turning it back over to the Broncos.

Forced to foul, they sent Gault to the line and nailed one of two and then rebounded the miss on his second shot and laid it back in for two as the horn expired to give Dayton the win. Gault led all scorers with 20 points, and Orebo added 15. Cooper finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“It was a fight, but I’m glad we got it done”

Dayton Head Coach Rodrick Bankhead