Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2009 > February > 25
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Flyers, Rams put on show in OT thriller
KINGSTON, R.I. — Dayton coach Brian Gregory objected when a reporter asked whether the Atlantic 10 deserved three NCAA tournament bids.
Just three? Gregory believes the league deserves four, and UD and Rhode Island certainly looked like a pair of NCAA teams as they clawed away at each other for 45 minutes Wednesday night.
The Flyers dropped a 93-91 overtime decision in a classic when Rams guard Marquis Jones made a driving lay-up as the clock dropped to zeroes. Jones came off a screen, forcing UD center Kurt Huelsman to make a switch with London Warren. Jones picked up a step on Huelsman and made a shot in traffic that would have earned high marks in the degree-of-difficulty category in another sport.
“Sean Miller at Xavier said the other day, ‘You lose on the road in this league, and you don’t have to apologize to anybody,’ ” Gregory said. “And I’m not going to apologize for our guys’ effort tonight.
“The problem is, right now, some people will say that’s a bad loss. Our league is not at the point yet where losing to a team on the road that has 21 wins, that has beaten practically everyone it’s played … it’s hard. It’s a sore subject. Right now in this league we’re doing what real good leagues do — beat the crap out of each other for two months.”
The Flyers needed a defensive stop at the end of regulation to force overtime and got it. Warren made a steal and then had the ball poked away from him. He may have been fouled. But then again, he might have been guilty of a foul while trying to retrieve the ball before the horn went off.
“I’d like to see that play on tape after London got the steal. I’d like to see what happened after London got the steal — wink, wink,” Gregory said, clearly hinting that the Rams got away with a hack. “There were about seven seconds or six seconds left, and all of sudden, he’s …”
Gregory stopped himself.
“I’d like to see that on tape,” he said.
The Flyers can only blame themselves for the defeat because of a 21-for-35 effort from the foul line, but they competed to the end in an inhospitable environment, and they had sparkling performances by an assortment of players.
Marcus Johnson struggled at the foul line (4-for-8), but he tallied a season-high 21 points and made a game-tying 3-pointer with Jimmy Baron in his face with 13.5 seconds to go in OT. Chris Wright had 17 points and a slew of athletic plays, but he spent just 26 of the 45 minutes on the floor because of foul trouble.
“One of Chris’ greatest challenges is this: He plays extremely hard, but because he missed so many games as a freshman, he’s going to make mistakes that freshman make,” Gregory said.
“When you have three fouls, you can’t go for a steal. Or, when you have four fouls and a guy is in the post, you have to make him make a shot. You can’t go for the reach.
“Freshmen get a pass on those because they’re dumb freshmen.”
Permalink | Comments (48) | Post your comment |
Flyers fall in overtime at Rhode Island
KINGSTON, R.I. — Dayton overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but Rhode Island’s Marquis Jones scored on a driving lay-up as the clock was expiring in the extra session to give the Rams a 93-91 victory Wednesday.
Marcus Johnson led five players in double figures with 21 to lead UD (23-5, 9-4 Atlantic 10). The Rams (21-8, 10-4) made 10-of-17 three-pointers
Permalink | Comments (34) | Post your comment |
Saturday’s UD-Temple game sold out
Saturday’s UD-Temple men’s basketball game is a sellout, the school announced this afternoon. Game time is 4 p.m. If you don’t have tickets, you can catch this key Atlantic 10 matchup on WHIO-TV, which is picking up the CBS College Sports feed.
There are some tickets remaining for Dayton’s final regular-season game, a matchup against Duquesne on Saturday, March 7, at 8 p.m. at UD Arena.
In other news, Dayton’s A-10 battle against Xavier on Thursday, March 5, at 9 p.m. in Cincinnati will be televised on ESPN2.
The UD Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on weekends three hours prior to the start of men’s home basketball games.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment |
Injured calf giving Johnson trouble
Dayton’s Chris Johnson still appeared to be affected by his bruised right calf during a light practice this morning at Thomas Ryan Center as the Flyers prepared to face Rhode Island tonight.
The freshman standout participated in every part of Tuesday’s practice at UD and looked to be recovered from the injury that kept him out of the team’s last game at Saint Louis, but he was noticeably limping and looked to be in pain during shooting and full-court drills today.
UD coach Brian Gregory huddled with trainer Nate Seymour before the practice, and when asked whether Johnson would play, Gregory said, “It’ll be a game-time decision.”
Rhode Island is treating the visit from the Flyers as its biggest home game of the year. The school is staging its third-annual Pink Out, asking fans to wear pink attire to raise awareness for breast-cancer research.
Rams coach Jim Baron has been impressed with the Flyers this year, particularly sophomore forward Chris Wright, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding.
“Wright is so athletic and can score in so many different ways,” Baron said. “He creates so many problems because he can go inside and outside. And he defends and blocks shots and runs the floor. He’s a terrific player.”
