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Warren celebrates 22nd birthday in style
FAIRFAX, Va. — Dayton’s London Warren turned 22 today, and he made sure he stayed undefeated on his birthday, at least as far as he can remember.
The Flyers held on for a 56-55 victory against George Mason — they also beat Louisville two years ago on Warren’s special day — and the senior point guard had a key play to stall the home team’s comeback.
The Patriots had the ball while down three with under two minutes to go, but Warren made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a lay-up (his first basket) with 1:50 left.
He also made the front end of a one-and-one with 42 seconds left to give UD a 52-46 edge After that, the Patriots never had the ball with a chance to take the lead.
But Warren, like his teammates, was disturbed the Flyers gave up the 18-point lead they built early in the second half.
UD put the Patriots in the bonus with 13:24 to go, and the home team climbed back by making 9-of-12 foul shots in the second half and 16-of-20 overall.
“We made big plays at the end of the game, but we were fouling too much when we were guarding the ball,” Warren said.
George Mason shot 27 percent (6-of-22) in the first half, but 50 percent (12-of-24) after intermission.
“I thought in the first half, we played extremely well,” UD coach Brian Gregory said. “We did not play as well in the second half. Give them credit. We made the plays down the stretch you need to make, but that’s not the way you like it to end.”
• The more I go on the road with Dayton, the more I’m impressed with UD fans. George Mason reached the 2006 Final Four and has made four NCAA trips and three NIT appearances since 1999 — in other words, the Patriots’ recent tradition is similar to UD’s.
But in fan support, George Mason can’t compare. A rowdy student section showed up at the Patriot Center — much like the Flyers’ Red Scare in size and decibel levels — but there were huge swaths of empty seats in prime locations. That would never happen at UD.
The final attendance was 5,727.
• The Flyers went four minutes without scoring in the first half, but their lead only dwindled from 24-15 to 24-17 because of some nasty defense.
The Patriots hit just five of their first 19 shots (0-for-6 from 3-point country) because the Flyers, as coach Norman Dale of Hickory High would say, were close enough to tell what flavor of gum they were chewing.
• Several NBA scouts were in attendance, and a source said they really like UD sophomore Chris Johnson, who’s long, athletic and can shoot the 3.
They were there in part to scout junior Chris Wright, who had some foul trouble and finished with two points, three rebounds, two steals and two turnovers in 19 minutes.
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Comments
By bub
December 9, 2009 2:15 AM | Link to this
CW is still in the “potential NBA recruit” category. His scoring is still mostly from clean-up misses, or close to the hoop… and he won’t be able to do that in the NBA. The #1 issue is his ball handling… way too many turnovers so far, and looks uncomfortable dribbling and creating his own shot. I hope he’ll consider staying through graduation…next year’s team would be amazing.
By bub
December 9, 2009 2:20 AM | Link to this
Chris Johnson is quickly becoming the backbone of this team. I’m sure the scouts noticed that tonight. I’m glad he’s getting a look. I just hope he’s smart and stays in school to complete his education. He’ll be a BEAST with 2 1/2 more years of experience!
By sec 312
December 9, 2009 9:28 AM | Link to this
I would HATE it if London Warren was guarding me happy birthday
By old flyer
December 11, 2009 1:23 PM | Link to this
I agree with bub, CW not ready for NBA. He needs people to stop puting that in his head. An NBA caliber player would be dominating the so-so players CW has faced.