Dayton Flyers

Dayton lands first four NCAA tournament games

steve — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:08:43 +0000

The University of Dayton will play host to the first four games of the NCAA tournament next season.

The school has typically hosted the opening round or “play-in” game since the tournament expanded to 65 teams.

The NCAA voted to expand the tournament again, this time to 68 teams, creating a need for additional games.

The NCAA has been pleased with the sizeable turnout for these games in the past despite the fact it features some of the worst teams in the tournament.

The school has not been awarded the games past 2011, so a new site could eventually be chosen.

Dayton flies to NIT title

Raj Sethi — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:07:25 +0000

It might not be the NCAA Tournament, but the NIT still gives the little guy a crack at the big boys.

The Dayton Flyers didn’t squander their opportunity.

Dayton jumped out to a big lead before holding off a late charge from the North Carolina Tar Heels in a 79-68 victory to win the NIT championship.

Marcus Johnson scored 20 points and Paul Williams added 16 for the Flyers to cap a 25-12 season. The NIT title is the program’s third and first since 1968, and could be the last in the tournament’s existence. Should the NCAA Tournament expand to 96 teams as proposed, the NIT would almost assuredly disappear.

Chris Johnson and Chris Wright added 14 points apiece for Dayton, which hit 11 3-pointers on the night.

Meltdown dooms Dayton

Raj Sethi — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:14:30 +0000

For the Dayton Flyers, the bubble burst on Friday night.

The Xavier Musketeers put an end to a disappointing season for the Flyers, edging them in the Atlantic-10 quarterfinals with a 78-73 win.

Dayton guard Rob Lowery had a moment that served as a microcosm of the Flyers’ season. With his team down by just two points and 33.6 seconds left, Lowery called timeout and had the ball slapped out of his hands after the whistle by an Xavier player. Lowery retaliated by slapping back and was caught by the officials, who called a technical foul to ensure defeat for Dayton. It was a bonehead play that will undoubtedly haunt Lowery for years.

Whether or not Dayton would have found a way to win the conference tournament is debatable at best. And after a season of letdowns, it’s fitting that the Flyers fell short.

Dayton falls one point short in loss to St. Joe’s

Raj Sethi — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:23:09 +0000

The Dayton Flyers were the Atlantic 10’s preseason favorite. But a less-than-stellar start to conference play could mean they’ll be on the outside looking in come NCAA Tournament time.

The Flyers suffered their second conference loss on Saturday, coming up just short in a 60-59 loss to the host St. Joseph’s Hawks.

After trailing for most of the game and by five with 43 seconds left, Dayton found itself with the ball down just one point with 15 seconds remaining. But Rob Lowery’s jumper was blocked with four seconds on the clock to secure the win for Phil Marteli’s team and drop Dayton to 3-2 in A-10.

The loss wasted an outstanding performance by the high-flying Chris Wright, who scored 28 points in defeat. But he was the only player to reach double-figures for the Flyers, which isn’t going to get the job done in the highly-competitive Atlantic 10 this season.

Dayton rolls past George Washington, 66-51

steve — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:04:28 +0000

The Dayton Flyers had no problems flying past the George Washington Colonials in a 66-51 victory.

Dayton jumped out to a 12-point halftime lead and never looked back.

It also didn’t hurt that George Washington missed nine free throws and shot under 50% at the line. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Dayton outrebounded the Colonials by 18, which is why they were able to roll away for the win despite shooting about the same from the floor.

Chris Wright led the Flyers with 14 points, and three other players reached double figures in scoring.