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RedHawks’ Mavunga produces in clutch

Turnovers costly for UD in OT defeat at Miami
Photos: Miami vs. UD
Video: Highlights from the game At whiotv.com
Dad helps Miami's Edwards get his mind right
Schedule, roster, and more At daytondailynews.stats.com

By Doug Harris, Staff Writer Updated 9:45 AM Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Julian Mavunga looked as if he might end up being a nonfactor against the University of Dayton on Tuesday, scoring just two points in the first half.

The other players on the Miami basketball team, though, weren’t going to stand by and let that happen.

“My teammates got on me at halftime,” Mavunga said. “They said, ‘Hey, man, stay confident. You’re the best player in the game on both teams. If we’re going to win this game, you’ve got to carry us.’

“I had to be much more aggressive in the second half.”

Mavunga was considerably more assertive after halftime. He finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 72-67 overtime win, hitting a dagger-like 3-pointer in overtime and scoring six points in the extra session.

The RedHawks had lost the previous five meetings in the series by an average of 2.4 points. Asked how it felt to knock off Dayton for the first time in his career, Mavunga let out a sigh and said, “Finally.”

UD took a tag-team approach to defense on the 6-foot-8 standout, guarding him with power forward Josh Benson and center Matt Kavanaugh.

“He’s got a pretty good ability to handle the ball, and they look for him to make plays,” Kavanaugh said. “He can score outside, inside and off the dribble.”

UD coach Archie Miller thought Mavunga was able to get untracked because of defensive breakdowns.

“I felt like he was able to score a couple of baskets in and around the rim too easy,” Miller said. “He was able to get where he wanted to get and powered the ball through us.”

Foul trouble: Chris Johnson picked up two fouls in the first 2:18 of the first half — one on a charge and another on a reach-in near half court — and went to the bench.

Johnson was called for a disputed third foul with 19:01 left in the game, getting whistled for too much contact on a Bill Edwards mid-range jumper.

The preseason second-team all-league pick played just 17 of the 45 minutes, scoring six points.

UD was whistled for 24 fouls, the RedHawks just 14. The Flyers are shooting 90 percent from the foul line in two games this season. Their problem is they’re not getting to the stripe enough.

They were 6-for-6 against Miami after going 3-for-4 against Western Illinois.

The RedHawks made 16-of-22 foul shots.

Good shooting: Miller liked his team’s shooting numbers: 27-of-55 from the field, 7-for-18 on 3-pointers.

“That’s a good enough percentage to beat about anybody,” he said. “But when you compound that with 22 turnovers and only get to the foul line six times, that’s not good enough to win here.”

Miller knows Miami’s slow-down style will give other opponents fits, too.

“They’re a very, very physical team. They’re a well-coached team,” the first-year UD coach said. “From a defensive standpoint, we won’t be the (only) team that comes in here and struggles against them.

“But it really started and finished with us with 22 turnovers — 12 at halftime is extremely too many. And we had eight in probably the first six minutes.”

Miller knows his team will have to develop more of an inside attack. Benson and Kavanaugh had a combined 12 points.

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

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