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Oliver, Flyers dominate with rebounds in win

By Doug Harris, Staff Writer Updated 12:30 AM Thursday, February 23, 2012

PITTSBURGH — When Devin Oliver skyed for rebounds, he expected to meet some Duquesne players in midair.

But the University of Dayton sophomore wing, to his surprise, often found himself looking eyeball-to-eyeball with teammate Chris Johnson above the rim.

“We were both crashing,” Oliver said. “Instead of running into the other team on the glass, you’re running into your teammate, which is a good sign. That means we’re going (hard).”

Oliver may still be developing as an offensive player, but his willingness to mix it up inside helped him earn his second start of the season in place of senior forward Luke Fabrizius.

The 6-foot-7 lefty — nicknamed D-MO — had a career-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points, helping the Flyers to a 41-24 edge on the boards against the smaller Dukes, who played as many as four perimeter players at times in UD’s 74-62 win Wednesday.

“I told Luke, ‘I’m not starting D-MO because you’re not doing something. I’m starting D-MO because, No. 1, I thought this was a difficult matchup for us with their guard play,” UD coach Archie Miller said. “And I felt like for us coming on the road and doing well, it would have nothing to do with offense. It had to do with being able to compete on defense. D-MO gave us a chance to play a little smaller.

“There’s no guarantees on our lineup. At this point in time, we’re striving for the best matchups we can possibly have, and he gave us that. He rebounds the ball — per minute played — really, really well. He gives us another guy who can really board.”

Size matters: UD’s Matt Kavanaugh was the biggest kid on the playground and tapped into that size advantage for some easy buckets. The 6-foot-10 center had 12 points and 11 rebounds, going 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the foul line. The Flyers pumped the ball inside.

“We’ve been focusing on that this week, with their switching team defense. We’ve been focusing on going inside against the scout team,” Kavanaugh said.

Asked if they wore out the scout team, the Centerville product said: “They actually have been hassling us pretty good. They definitely got us ready to play.”

Disappointed: The Dukes forced 20 turnovers but couldn’t capitalize.

“I didn’t think offensively we had a lot of patience,” coach Ron Everhart said. “I think our bad offense led to bad defense. ... That was obviously the story of the game.

“We just didn’t rebound the ball very well. We allowed 21 second-chance points, and it’s very hard to win when you give up 21 second-chance points.”

Chipping in: Guard Josh Parker had 12 points and three assists and picked up the slack for teammate Kevin Dillard, who had a rare off game (seven turnovers).

But Parker gave much of the credit for the win to Paul Williams, who has regained his shooting form after a six-game funk.

“He’s been in his little slump, but Paul is a warrior. He keeps fighting,” Parker said. “That’s what he’s been doing the last couple of games. We need that. We need everybody. Him stepping up tonight was big.”

Extra possession: UD’s Chris Johnson was whistled for “an excessive contact” foul on the Dukes’ Sean Johnson with 14:12 left in the first half, making contact in midair while stopping a layup. Sean Johnson missed both foul shots, but the Dukes were then awarded the ball out of bounds, and Jerry Jones swished a 3-pointer.

Red out: UD is encouraging its fans to wear red for a home game with 19-8 UMass at 6 p.m. Saturday (those who don’t already, anyway).

CBS-TV and Intersport, a video production company, will be filming during the game for a feature about the best “under the radar” college basketball atmospheres in the nation that will air during coverage of the NCAA Elite Eight at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 25, on CBS.

Only about 200 tickets remain unsold for the game.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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