Category: Dayton Flyers

By HAL McCOY

For as long as anybody can remember, the Mullins Center on the University of Massachusetts campus has been a Fieldhouse of Frustration for University of Dayton basketball teams.

Obi Toppin was 6-years-old and Josh Cunningham was 8-years old when the Flyers last won a game in the decrepit old joint.

UD’s last win in Mullins was in 2004 and Dr. Julius Irving, a UMass product, had nothing to do with it. He played for the Minutemen long, long ago.

So it was with timid trepidation that the Flyers walked into Mullins Tuesday night, even though UMass stood 13th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 standings.

And it didn’t look good in the first few minutes when UMass jumped to an 8-2 lead, despite missing five players sitting in track suits on the sidelines with injuries.

Then things changed like a nor’easter. The Flyers went on a 26-4 run and never looked back en route to a classic 72-48 beatdown.

By halftime it was 40-18 as the Flyers shot an incomprehensible 81 per cent — 14 for 17 and neither Toppin nor Cunningham had missed a shot because the claimed squatter’s rights under the basket.

Midway through the first half, Toppin slammed home a dunk, his 67th of the season to break Chris Wright’s single-season record.

And he didn’t stop. The next three times down the floor he dunked and dunked and dunked – four in a row to give the Flyers a 36-14 lead.

He added two more in the second half for six on this night, expanding his dunk record to 72. His six dunks at UMass, located near Boston, was apropos because there is a Dunkin’ Donuts shop of nearly every corner.

Among the five missing UMass players was leading scorer Luwane Pipkins (16.6 ppg). Pipkins scored 19 earlier this year at UD Arena during Dayton’s 72-67 victory. In two games last season he scored 25 and 28 points, including a last-minute three-pointer in UMass’s double overtime win in Mullins.

The Minutemen place their scoring hopes on 6-foot-4 Carl Pierre, averaging 21 points over his last five games. Not on this night. Ryan Mikesell treated him like a frozen spigot, holding him to 0 for 7 in the first half. He finished with just seven points on 2 for 13 shooting, 1 for 7 from the three-point circle.

At one point, both Toppin and Cunningham were 7 for 7. Toppin finished 8 for 10 and hit a three en route to 19 points and Cunningham was 7 for 8 and scored 18.

Jordan Davis and Jalen Crutcher were supportive with 13 and 10. The only UMass player in double figures was Jonathan Laurent with 21.

The Flyers biggest lead was 29 points, 61-32, with 14 minutes left and hit 21 of their first 26 shots.

With Toppin and Cunningham sniffing around the basket, the Flyers outscored UMass 40-26 in the paint and UD scored 25 points off 21 Minutemen turnovers.

UMass is so desperate for warm bodies that their football quarterback, Randall West, played nine minutes and scored two points.

With the victory, UD moved to 19-9 overall and 11-4 in the A-10 with the next two games at home, Friday night against Rhode Island and then their final home game against LaSalle. UMass fell to 10-18 overall and 3-12 in the conference.

By HAL McCOY

For 32 1/2 minutes, the Davidson College basketball team ran into the Perfect Storm and that storm wore the red and blue of the University of Dayton.

The Flyers played perfect half-court defense and perfect get-it-inside offense for those 32 1/2 minutes, enabling them to construct a 16-point lead with 7 1/2 minutes left in Tuesday’s game.

But they were playing Davidson, the Atlantic 10’s first-place team and they were playing in Belk Arena, where Davidson had won 17 straight.

So, as expected, it wasn’t that easy. The storm clouds cleared for Davidson and they came storming all the way back, tying the game with one minute left.

And it was tied with :02.2 seconds left when Josh Cunningham was fouled in the act and awarded two free throws.

Cunningham is only a 59 per cent free throw shooter this season, but was 8-for-8 on this night when he toed the line.

He missed the first. But he buried the second and a last gasp three-pointer by Davidson clanked off the rim and the Flyers had an improbable 74-73 victory.

It was a gut test for the Flyers after just three days ago they overcame a 22-point deficit in the second half at home against Virginia Commonwealth, only to fall one point short.

This time it was one point to the good because the Flyers kept pushing and punching the ball inside to Cunningham and Obi Toppin.

And their hand-to-hand combat defense kept Davidson away from the basket until the end.

The Flyers led, 66-50, with 7:30 left when Davidson when on a whirlwind 21-5 sprint to tie it, 71-71.

Toppin missed a shot under the basket but grabbed his own rebound and put it in to give UD a 73-71 lead. But Davidson rushed down the floor for an easy layup to tie it, 73-73.

Then Cunningham topped off a fabulous night with his game-winning free throw.

Cunningham has drawn double and triple coverage around the hoop and this day was no different, except he muscled his way for baskets or for fouls.

The Flyers led, 48-37, with 16:35 left when Cunningham picked up his third foul and grabbed a sideline seat.

But the Flyers kept rolling, with Toppin scoring seven points over the next seven minutes, including his 65th dunk, one shy of Chris Wright’s single season record.

That gave UD its biggest lead, a 17-point margin at 63-46. And that’s when Davidson tried for a Silky Sullivan finish.

The Fatigue Factor certainly played a part in Dayton’s near-disastrous finish.

Trey Landers returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s game with a sore shoulder, but the rust was evident. He was in quick foul trouble, played only nine minutes and didn’t score.

That meant guard Jalen Crutcher played 39 of the 40 minutes, Jordan Davis played 38 and Ryan Mikesell played 36.

Cunningham made all six of his shots and was 9 for 10 from the foul line for 21 points. Toppin made six of 10 and was five for eight from the foul line for 18 points and his 12 rebounds gave him a double-double.

Jordan Davis scored 15 and made four of seven from the three-point line, including a mammoth one with 3:22 left to stop Davidson’s 11-0 run that drew them within 66-62.

Crutcher had an off day shooting, 2-of-10 and five misses from three, but his four assists and constant penetration down the lane led to UD baskets.

Davidson’s Jon Axel Gudmundsson led all scorers with 26 and teammates Kellan Grady and Kishawn Pritchett added 18 and 13.

The Flyers dominated the paint early in the game, but when Cunningham and Toppin encountered foul problems the Wildcats drove the lane down the stretch and outscored UD in the paint, 32-26.

The victory lifted the Flyers to 17-9, 9-4 in the Atlantic 10 and the defeat dropped Davidson (19-7, 10-3) out of a first place tie with Virginia Commonwealth.

By HAL McCOY

It was almost as if University of Dayton basketball coach Anthony Grant sat his team down after a plug-ugly loss at Saint Louis early in the week and said as they watched video, “Don’t do that, don’t do that and don’t do that. Do this and do this and do this.”

And perhaps he did and if he did his Flyers were intent listeners.

After doing every possible wrong at Saint Louis in a 13-point loss, the Flyers did everything right Saturday at Rhode Island, romping and stomping their way to a 77-48 victory.

It was Rhode Island’s worst loss of the season (12-11) perhaps Dayton’s best game of the season, certainly its best on the road. UD’s resume expanded to 16-and-8 overall and 8-and-3 in the Atlantic 10.

Against Saint Louis Tuesday, the Flyers fell behind 10-0 and 17-4. They were not about to let that happen Saturday, even though they were playing in Rhode Island’s Ryan Center in front of the Rams’ first sellout this season.

The Flyers kept the crowd quiet and ensconced in its seats, putting the pedal to the metal from the time the ball was tossed into the air. This time it was the Flyers leaping to a 12-0 lead and a 27-7 lead.

Rhode Island missed its first eight shots and the Flyers were off and running and running and running.

With 10 minutes left in the half the Flyers were up 27-7. Rhode Island put on a mild flourish to end the half, its only flourish of the game to pull within 41-27. Obi Toppin, getting his second straight start, poured in 15 first-half points.

And the Rams tried to dig their way back into competition early in the second half, pulling to within 12 with 16 1/2 minutes left, 44-32.

The Flyers stomped the accelerator once again, a 10-2 run over the next five minutes and the lead was a game-high 22 at that point and the Rams were kaput.

After Saint Louis buried the Flyers with a flurry of offensive rebounds, 19 of them, coach Anthony Grant stressed boxing out, rebounding and defense for this one.

The Flyers were superior in all of those facets. They outrebounded Rhode Island, 37-25. They held the Rams to 29.6 per cent shooting (16 for 54, 3 for 19 from three). Meanwhile, the Flyers shot the ball with dead-on accuracy, 31 of 49 (69.3 per cent).

And while they couldn’t throw the ball in the Mississippi River off a paddleboat in St. Louis, especially from three, the Flyers worked the ball inside against Rhode Island, taking only 12 shots from three and making six.

Defensively, Dayton’s guard completely shut down Rhode Island point guard Fats Russell — zero points. In fact, the only Rams to do anything was Cyril Langevine, the only Rhodie in double figures with 23 to go with 10 rebounds.

Toppin finished with 19 after scoring 15 in the first half, making 8 of 10 from the field, including a three-pointer. Guard Jalen Crutcher led the Flyers with 20 (7 0f 12 and 2 of 4 from three), Josh Cunningham contributed 13 on 6 of 9 shooting. Ryan Mikesell scored only four, but led the Flyers with seven rebounds.

Walk-on guard Cameron Greer punctuated the massive victory in the game’s dying moment by banking home a three, his first collegiate points.

Virginia Commonwealth and Davidson are tied atop the A-10 at 8-and-2 and Dayton is a half-game behind at 8-and-3. The stinkeroo they left in Saint Louis prevented them from occupying first place today.

And they will take a shot a VCU Saturday n UD Arena.

By HAL McCOY

With a golden opportunity under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the University of Dayton Flyers might have better spent their time Tuesday night riding the tram to the top of the Arch.

Down on Mother Earth in Chaifetz Arena, the Flyers were unfrocked by Saint Louis University, 73-60.

The Flyers arrived with a 7-and-2 record in the Atlantic-10 Conference and a four-game winning streak, placing them just a half-game out of first place.

Meanwhile, Saint Louis, the pre-season favorite to win the A-10, started the season 5-and-0 in league play, but had lost four straight. And their best player, Javon Bess, was limping on a bad ankle.

One could drop all that information from the top of The Arch because Saint Louis was armed and dangerous.

Taking complete control of the offensive boards for stick-back baskets, the Billikens leaped to a 17-4 lead and the Flyers were in scramble mode the rest of the way.

Early on, a pair of guys named French and Foreman knocked the ‘F’ off the Flyers nickname.

D.J. Foreman and Hasahn French combined four ten quick points to push Saint Louis to a 10-0 lead, six points coming off offensive rebounds.

For the game, the Billikens grabbed an unfathomable 19 offensive rebounds that led to 26 points.

And while Saint Louis was racing to that 10-0 lead, the Flyers missed their first four shots and turned it over twice.

It was a hole too deep.

The Flyers did scratch back to within seven late in the first half. They were still seven down, 36-29, early in the second half. And they were behind by nine, 40-31, before the Billikens went on an eight-point spurt to push the lead to 48-31 and the party was over.

Obi Toppin usually comes off the bench, but started this game and encountered quick foul trouble.

He had only three points until he went on an eight-point splurge, mostly from the foul line, in the last 3 1/2 minutes.

Toppin entered the game as the nation’s No. 1 field goal shooter and led the nation in dunks. He was 2 for 6 this night from the field (7 of 8 from the foul line) and had one dunk late in the game to give him 60 on the season.

Saint Louis had four players in double figures, led by Foreman with 18. Bess, the man with the bad ankle, spent considerable time on the bench with fouls, but scored 14, seven in the final three minutes to keep the Billikens unreachable to the Flyers.

Tremain Isabell added 11 and French had 10. Foreman had five offensive rebounds, Bell four and Hasahn four as the Flyers couldn’t keep the Billikens off the glass.

Josh Cunningham’s 12 points led the Flyers against a sticky, stifling Billikens defense, while Toppin had 11 and Jalen Crutcher had 10.

Saint Louis, the league’s worst free throw shooting team, went to the line 32 times and made 20. UD made 11 of 15.

As usual, the Flyers struggled from the three-point line on the road, 3 for 16, and they had only nine assists and 13 turnovers.

It all added up the Flyers leaving town with the St. Louis blues.

By HAL McCOY

It was as if the University of Dayton basketball team sent an engraved invitation into the George Mason huddle that said, “We cordially invite you to win this game. R.S.V.P.”

George Mason responded with, “Yes, thank you, we’ll take it.”

And take it they did, a 67-63 victory over the Flyers Wednesday night in UD Arena in a game that set back fluid basketball at least a decade.

The Flyers led, 63-60, with three minutes left after Jordan Davis buried a three, a rare occurrence this night because UD made just 8 of 27 three-pointers.

From there UD missed four straight shots and committed three turnovers as George Mason put away the game with a 7-0 finish.

It was a costly home loss in the Atlantic 10 Conference for the Flyers, who dipped to 4-and-2 while George Mason climbed to 6-and-1.

And it wasn’t as if George Mason was silky smooth. The Patriots shot about the same as the Flyers. UD made 24 of 54 and George Mason made 24 of 53 and 6 of 20 from three.

In addition the Flyers put the clamps on George Mason start Justin Kier, averaging more than 17 a game and more than 11 rebounds a game. He scored just 12 on 3 of 10 shoots, 1 for 5 from three.

But UD’s insistence on casting long range clankers was the downfall. When they got the ball inside to Josh Cunningham or Obi Toppin, they scored. They just didn’t do it.

Cunningham was 6 for 9 en route to game-high 15 points and Toppin was 5 for 5 and scored 11.

When the game began, the Flyers scored five quick layups and one three-pointer to take a 13-8 lead. George Mason called a time-out and plugged the hole down the lane, forcing the Flyers outside.

Crutcher was 3 for 12 and 2 for 9 from three. Jordan Davis missed his first nine shots and finished 2 fr 14, 2 for 9 from three.

It isn’t often a team treats its home hoops like foreign objects, but on this night the Flyers shot as if they were playing blindfolded.

After Davis made his desperation three as the shot clock expired with three minutes left to give the Flyers a 63-60 lead, the Arena roof collapsed on UD’s heads.

The Patriots scored two quick baskets underneath, one a layup by Jarred Reuter and one a follow off a missed shot by Ian Boyd.

That gave George Mason a 64-63 lead with a 1:40 left. Obi Toppin missed the front end of a one-and-one, a constant thorn inside UD’s sneakers.

Just before the three by Jordan Davis, Josh Cunningham missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Flyers, poor free throw shooters all year, made 5 of 9. George Mason, the league’s best free throw shooting team at more than 80 per cent, made 13 of 16.

After Toppin missed his free throw, George Mason’s Justin Kier made 1 of 2 for a 65-63 lead. Jordan Davis missed a three and Crutcher was called for traveling.

George Mason missed a shot and Ryan Mikesell grabbed the rebound, giving the Flyers a chance to tie or take the lead with a three. But Davis missed a driving lay-up with 16 seconds left.

George Mason knocked the ball out of bounds after the Davis miss and the Flyers still had a chance. After two timeouts to set up a play, Crutcher took a wild and deep heave with 4.5 seconds left and missed.

Kreuter made two free throws with four seconds left to put the tape on the package.

By HAL McCOY

On paper, it may have looked as if the University of Dayton basketball teams had an easy assignment Saturday afternoon in Olean, N.Y.

They were playing St. Bonaventure, owner of a 6-and-11 record and missing its two starting guards, out with concussion protocols.

But they don’t play on paper. They play at Reilly Center, a place the Bonnies defend with ferocious tenacity. They hadn’t lost an Atlantic 10 home game in more than two years and had won 14 straight A-10 games in the comforts of home.

Well, the Flyers took care of that, taking the Bonnies into double overtime before snatching away a gut-wrenching 89-86 victory.

And they did it with their heart and soul, Jalen ‘Crunch Time’ Crutcher sitting on the bench after he fouled out late in the first overtime.

And they did it despite a staggering 36-point, 10-rebound performance by Bonnies senior forward/guard Courtney Stockard.

After building an early nine-point lead, 18-9, the Flyers were outscored 16-5 late in the half and fell behind, 34-31.

And they fell behind by 10, 56-46 with eight minutes left and it looked as if the Bonnies would leave the Flyers crumpled in a snow bank.

UD was still in arrears, 63-55, with 4 1/2 minutes left. The Flyers put on a 10-1 sprint and a three-ball by Crutcher gave UD its first second half lead, 65-64, with 2 1/ minutes left.

From there, it became a free-for-all, a scrappy, knee-scraping wrestling match by both teams as they changed back-and-forth.

The Flyers took the lead, 69-68, on an Obi Toppin basket on a pass from Ryan Mikesell with 30 seconds left. St. Bona freshman Kyle Lofton had two free throws with 10 seconds left and made only one to tie it. Crutcher missed a desperation three at the buzzer to send it into overtime.

St. Bona scored first in the first overtime before Ryan Mikesell hit a three and Jordan Davis scored on a fast break after Toppin blocked a shot to give the Flyers a 74-71 lead.

Bonnies freshman Dominick Welch hit a three to tie it and Crutcher hit another three to push the Flyers in front, 77-74. St. Bona hit a follow-up shot after making a free throw to re-knot it 77-all and Jordan Davis turned it over at the buzzer.

With their ball-handling, penetrating, three-point shooting point guard (Crutcher) on the bench, Jordan Davis assumed control of the ball and the offense.

Davis hit a floater down the lane with a minute left to push the Flyers to an 84-81 lead. After Stockard hit a jumper, Davis hit a long three from the popcorn machine in the lobby with the shot clock expiring to give UD an 84-81 lead with a minute left.

Undaunted and not flustered, Stockard scored again, his 36th points, with 36 seconds left.

Davis responded again with another three, St. Bona scored to draw back within one and Ryan Mikesell hit two free throws with three seconds left for a three-point lead.

La Darien Griffin fired a shot at the buzzer that would have tied it, but it clanked off the rim to end it.

Ryan Mikesell, a blue collar player who does so much and works so diligently he should wear a hard hat on the court, led the Flyers with 21 points, tying his career-high. And when neither defensive whiz Jordan Davis nor Trey Landers could put a stopper on St. Bona’s Stockard, Mikesell took the challenge down the stretch and cast a shadow over every step he took.

It was fortunate the Flyers had Mikesell at the foul line with three seconds left. He was eight-for-eight at the line and the rest of the Flyers were 11 for 20. And Mikesell snagged eight rebounds.

UD had six players in double figures — Mikesell, Crutcher 15, Josh Cunningham 14, Trey Landers 14, Jordan Davis 13 and Obi Toppin, who came off the bench to score 10 on five-for-five shooting that included three dunks.

To get his career-best 36, Stockard took 30 shots. He made 13 and was 4 for 13 from three. Griffin scored 18 and Lofton added 11.

The game began like a pick-up game at the Cronin Center on the UD campus. Neither team could score in the first four minutes.

The Bonnies missed their first 10 shots and the Flyers missed four straight point-blank lay-ups off drives.

UD finally uncorked the lid off the basket and built an 11-3 lead. Josh Cunningham hit a drive-and-one three-point play to give the Flyers a 26-18 lead with five minutes left in the half.

Then it go ugly for the Flyers. St. Bona exploited the middle of UD’s 1-1-3 zone defense with some driving floaters, led by Stockard, who scored 18 in the first 20 minutes.

It turned into a 16-5 breakout that gave the Bonnies a 34-31 lead at halftime. Then came that second half for the ages, or aging if you are UD coach Anthony Grant.

It lifted the Flyers to 4-and-1 in the A-10 and was only their third road win against two losses during their 12-and-5 season (not counting neutral sites). UD, 9-and-1 at home, take on George Mason Wednesday night in UD Arena in an Atlantic 10 match-up.