Category: Dayton Flyers

By HAL McCOY

With an opportunity to score a significant victory Wednesday night at Virginia Commonwealth, the University of Dayton offense retreated into an igloo and stayed there for the last four minutes of the game.

The outcome was a disheartening 76-71 defeat, dropping the Flyers to 3-and-1 in the Atlantic 10 and snapping a six-game winning streak.

The Flyers led, 69-65 with 4:10 left in the game. Then came the offensive hibernation.

—Ryan Mikesell missed a three.
—Jalen Crutcher missed a three.
—Josh Cunningham traveled.
—Jalen Crutcher committed a turnover.
—Ryan Mikesell missed a three.
—Josh Cunningham committed a turnover.
—Jordan Davis missed a layup on which the ball came to rest on the orange flange that attaches the basket to the backboard. Has that ever happened in basketball history?

Meanwhile, VCU star Marcus Evans came off the bench, where he sat for several minutes of the second half with four fouls, to score VCU’s final seven points.

It was 69-all when Evans bottomed a long three with 34 seconds left. With the Flyers trying to find a way to score, Evans hit four straight free throws to seal it.

It was fitting that the Evans three turned the game around. VCU came into the game shooting 29 per cent from the three-point line.

In their previous game, a loss to Davidson, the Rams were 4 for 24 from three. Against Dayton Wednesday they were 9 for 19, enabling VCU to lift its A-10 record to 3-and-1 and 12-and-5 overall. UD is 11-and-6.

Using a mugging-style half-court defense that befuddled and perplexed the Flyers, VCU stepped out to an 11-point lead midway through the first half.

But UD went on a 12-0 run at the end of the half and early into the second half to grab a 39-37 lead. From there it was a wild scramble, tight all the way, until the Flyers built their biggest lead, 63-58, with 8:10 left.

The lead changed teams 12 times during the course of the game and there were nine ties.

Both teams struggled with fouls. For the Flyers both Obi Toppin and Trey Landers fouled out and Cunningham sat for lengthy periods and finished with four fouls.

Jordan Davis led the Flyers with 17, but launched only four three-pointers and made two. His guard running mate, Jalen Crutcher, scored 14 but was only 2 of 6 from three. UD was 4 for 16 from three.

Josh Cunningham scored 13, but could only get off six shots, making five. Ryan Mikesell scored 11 but was 0 for 3 from three.

VCU had five players in double figures, led by Marcus Evans with 17, four over his average.

Neither team could shoot straight from the foul line with UD struggling at 15 for 23 and VCU with 13 for 22.

But Evans buried four straight in the final 30 seconds to clinch it and send the Flyers back to the locker room with hanging heads over what could have and might have been.

By HAL McCOY

If Josh Cunningham was a selfish guy, a me-only guy — which he isn’t — he could ask, “What do I have to do to get some attention around here? Tear down the backboard and eat the glass?”

That’s because, on a balmy December night in UD Arena, Cunningham lit up Western Michigan like a cheap Christmas tree as the University of Dayton Flyers pinned an 85-72 defeat on the Mid-American Conference’s Broncos.

What did Cunningham do?

How about 28 points? How about 10 of 13 shooting? How about eight-for-eight from the foul line? How about game-high eight rebounds? How about four assists from an inside player. How about h0lding his defensive assignment, a 7-footer, to four points and one rebound?

Amazing stuff, eh? Yeah really good stuff. But as songstress Shirley Bassey once sang, “You aint heard nothin’ yet.”

The 12,590 fans left UD Arena talking about a tandem performance, a performance by two guys joined at the hip — Jalen Crutcher and Obi Toppin.

They are like a baseball battery with Crutcher as the pitcher and Toppin as the catcher.

So here is how it went. Toppin, a 6-foot-9 red shirt freshman from Ossining, N.Y. prowled the base-line and the area near the rim like a coyote searching for a roadrunner.

Crutcher, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., roamed the perimeter, handling the basketball, looking for Toppin to make his move. And when he did, “Wham, bam, slam,” Crutcher-to-Toppin-to-dunk.

Toppin shot 11 times. Toppin made 11 baskets. A basketball perfecto. And Crutcher had 10 assists, eight of them to Toppin. And with Crutcher’s 14 points, he had himself a double-double.

The hook-up is no accident. The two share a room at the Caldwell Apartments on the UD campus. They swear they get along and neither one ever annoys the other, “And we even like the same food,” said Toppin. “Mostly we just order Domino’s or something.”

The Crutcher-Toppin Connection began last year, but it wasn’t in games because Toppin was being red-shirted. But he practiced with the team.

They were asked if they had some kind of signal of the floor — something from Toppin to Crutcher to tell him he would be swooping toward the hoop for a lob pass.

“It started last year in practice when he was sitting out,” said Crutcher. “He was on the scout team. Sometimes he would be on my team in practice and started doing it then.”

“It’s like the Krabby Patty secret formula,” said Toppin. “The Krabby Patty formula is secret. We can’t tell you.”

So is there a code, a secret word, a quick gesture from one to the other to set their lob-and-dunk in motion?

Said Crutcher, “We can’t tell you the formula because then other teams will be listening for it. So we can’t really say.”

Asked they talk about it, Toppin said, “All the time, man. All the time.” Crutcher said, “We just know each other, sir. That’s it.”

In a home game recently against Detroit Mercy, Toppin set a school record with eight dunks. On Wednesday against Western Michigan he had five.

But his last was his best, even better than any of the eight against Detroit Mercy. With 33 second left in the game, Crutcher hit Toppin with another pass. Toppin had his back to the basket and dunked it over his head, his back still to the basket.

“He couldn’t even see the basket, man,” said Crutcher. “I don’t think he was even looking at the rim.”

“Yeah, I thought I missed it,” said Toppin. On this night he didn’t miss anything.

And he had a left handed dunk, too, also on a pass from Crutcher, who said, “I don’t know how you did that, man. But you know what, he is really left handed. Nobody knows that but us.”

Crutcher was asked, “So what does Toppin ever do for you?” They both laughed and Crutcher said “Sometimes we do the pick-and-roll that gives me open threes.”

That unfolded early in the game. Early in the game, with the Flyers down, 6-2, Crutcher buried three straight three-pointers in a 90-second spree that pushed the Flyers in front, 11-9. From there the Flyers built an 18-point lead to 40-22.

And they led at the half, 45-33. Western Michigan, though, didn’t go away. Midway  through the second half the put on a 9-0 spurt to close to within seven, 64-57.

Then the Crutcher-Toppin pass-and-stuff connection worked two straight times to push the Flyers back up to 68-57. The Broncos never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

Somebody said it seems as if Crutcher and Toppin can hook up and connect any time they want, score at will, even over a 7-footer like Western Michigan’s Seth Dugan.

“Yeah,” said Crutcher. “I always tell coach to run the pick-and-roll when we’re both in the game.”

Crutcher said there are innumerable times when he dribbles down the middle, right down Main Street, for an easy driving lay-up, but he sees Toppin heading hoopward and lobs it up.

“Yeah, he even gives me the no-look pass sometimes,” said Toppin.

Crutcher laughed and said, “Sometimes I’ll be about to shoot it, then I see him and just throw it high enough above the rim so he can get it. It’s an easier shot for him.”

Asked if he ever had a big man in high school like Toppin, Crutcher said, “No, never. In high school our ‘big man’ was 6-foot-3.” And did Toppin ever have a guard in high school like Crutcher? “No. Nuh-uh. Never.”

It is obvious UD coach Anthony Grant is trying to keep Toppin’s head from expanding to the width of a basketball rim.

Asked about Toppin, who tied the team field goal record percentage with his 11-for-11, Grant said, “Obi finished a lot of great plays and he is one of the few guys that finishes some of the plays he finishes.

Asked if the Crutcher-Toppin Show juices him up the way it does fans, Grant said, “Maybe when I go back and watch it next May or June. I’ve been around a lot of good basketball. I know they are exciting plays. For me, though, it is two points and we have to get on to the next play. I guess that’s a sad way to look at it, but I’m just being honest.

“His teammates did a great job of getting him the ball,” he added. “We had 23 assists on 32 baskets. That is really good. So he was the recipient of a lot of that and did a good job of making himself available.”

And Crutcher? “Ten assists and one turnover. That’s how I look at it. He did a great job of finding his teammates and doing a great job of running our team.”

Grant likes to talk more about his senior, the forgotten man who was super-good, Josh Cunningham, certainly deserving of high plains praise.

“Josh really led our team with great energy. Offensively, he was a rock for us. When we needed a basketball, we could go to him and he would get fouled and finish. Defensively, he did a real good job of using his voice and being in the right spot. He had the main job on their big guy inside and he did a really good job of making it difficult for him.”

The 7-footer, Seth Dugan, came into the game averaging 16.6 points a game and 10 rebounds. He was 18th in the NCAA with five double-doubles. He scored four points and had one rebound. One.

Grant was pleased with the way his Flyers responded when they blew a big lead and Western Michigan cut it to seven late in the game, something the Flyers haven’t done during a four-game losing streak to highly-ranked teams.

“They made a run, cut it to seven, and our guys really answered the bell,” he said. “It was good to see the way our guys finished. There were a lot of lessons we can take from this game.

“These experiences for a young team, you have to go through that,” he added. “The hope is with all the lessons you become more experienced and more prepared for what lies ahead. It is good to be able to win as you learn those lessons.

“We have not been able to win some of our other games because of breakdowns, be it offensively or defensively.”

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from the Man Cave watching basketball games from the Mohegan Sun Arena, wondering if all the fans decided to either stay in the casino or take a long lunch at Bobby Flay’s.

—How did the University of Dayton basketball team miss scheduling Kansas, Duke and Tennessee this season? It seems the Flyers have played every other potent and powerful team so far this season.

With a 72-67 loss to Tulsa Sunday afternoon, the Flyers are 5-and-5. The five losses have come to teams with a combined 43-6 record. And Tulsa  is the worst at 9-and-3. The other four are 34-3 — Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Auburn.

To the Flyers, playing in the Mohegan Arena in the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase, it must have seemed like a practice scrimmage between themselves. They are accustomed to playing in front of 13,500 fans in UD Arena.

The game in Mohegan Sun Arena was played in front of thousands of unoccupied chairs, a near-empty venue. Coaches screaming at players could be heard and the only other sounds were those of screeching sneakers on the wooden floor.

The Flyers discovered they can’t compete without their big guys, Josh Cunningham and Obi Toppin.

Cunningham picked up three fouls one minute into the second half. His replacement, Toppin, picked up his third with 13 minutes left in the game.

At the time, the Flyers led, 41-37. But with Cunningham and Toppin seated court-side, Tulsa went on a 14-2 breakaway to take a 51-43 lead and the Flyers never recovered.

The Flyers did mount a late 7-0 run, ending with a three by Jalen Crutcher with 50 seconds left, pulling the Flyers to within 68-65. And they got the ball back, but Ryan Mikesell missed a wide-open three from the corner with 12 seconds left.

Tulsa’s Curran Scott, a red-shirt junior, hit four free throws in the final 11 seconds to seal it.

The Flyers, fumbling and stumbling on the perimeter against Tulsa’s match-up zone, fell behind by 14 points in the first half as Tulsa hit five of six three-pointers. UD adjusted, taking the ball to the basket, and put on a 17-3 run late in the half to tie it, 30-30.

But in the end, the foul miseries of Cunningham and Toppin did them in, plus the fact they hit only 5 of 20 three-pointers.

—QUOTE: From former NBA star Charles Barkley: “I don’t hate anyone, at least not for more than 48 minutes, unless there is overtime.” (Could it be the Flyers are too nice? Doubt it. They do play extremely hard.)

—Watching the game before the UD-Tulsa game was purely painful. Officials called 56 fouls in the Rhode Island-West Virginia game. At least they weren’t prejudiced. They called 28 on each team before Rhode Island prevailed, 83-70. Some technical fouls were also called and, amazingly, not one was called on Bob Huggins, West Virginia’s volatile coach.

—QUOTE: From Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski: “A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them together, you have a fist. That’s how I want to play.” (But is it fair if your team has ten fingers and two fists?)

—The Cleveland Browns and quarterback Baker Mayfield took another step forward Saturday night with a 17-16 squeaker-stinker win in Denver, a team to which the Browns had lost to 11 straight times.

What was so good about it was that the Browns did not play with a winning proficiency, not at all, and they won.

“We didn’t play well at all, me included,” said Mayfield. “But it was prime time, on the road, in somebody’s else’s house. If you don’t love that there is something wrong with you.”

And amazingly, going into Week 16, two games from the end of the regular season, the Browns still had a chance in the playoff picture, although that picture was very out of focus and fuzzy and they needed some miracles, which didn’t happen.

“We didn’t win on the road for a long time and we have two now and that says a lot about this team,” said Mayfield. “That’s huge. Some of the guys on this team had never won a game on the road.”

—QUOTE: From former NFL running back Emmitt Smith: “I may win and I may lose, but I’ll never be defeated.” (Has Emmitt checked the meaning of lose and defeat in the dictionary and aren’t they synonymous?)

—Is Tanner Roark going to be the only ‘significant’ pitching acquisition by the Cincinnati Reds? It looks as if Matt Harvey is fast becoming their best option.

Patrick Corbin? Gone. Nathan Eovaldi? Gone. J.A. Happ? Gone. Charlie Morton? Gone.

And now it appears that the Cleveland Indians are not interested in trading Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. By trading Yan Gomes, Edwin Encarnacion and Yonder Alonso, the Tribe lopped $18 million off the payroll and may no longer need to ditch one of their high-powered pitchers.

—QUOTE: From former major league catcher/broadcaster Joe Garagiola: “Being traded is like celebrating your 100th birthday. It might not be the happiest occasion in the world, but consider the alternative.” (Garagiola was only traded twice and he lived to be 90.)

—Did anybody see the Eastern Washington-Maine NCAA FCS game Saturday on the red field? Eastern Washington, playing on its home field, won by 50-19, as quarterback Eric Barriere threw for 352 yards and seven touchdowns.

But, oh, that red field? It is even more distracting on TV than the blue turf on Boise State’s field. How long before the University of Oregon comes up with a chartreuse field?

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, wishing I had four TV sets in front of me to watch the pre-Thanksgiving basketball feast— Gonzaga-Duke, Dayton-Butler, Wright State-SMU, Cleveland Cadavers-Los Angeles LBJs.

—The earth-rattling college basketball news emanated from Hawaii, a basketball earthquake. Gonzaga beat Duke, a volcanic eruption with no lava.

Bigger news on the local front was the University of Dayton’s domination of highly-regarded Butler in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas. Domination? Total destruction.

The Flyers entered the eight-team tournament as one of the lowest rated participants. Butler calls that a lie after the Flyers ripped off a 69-64 upset that wasn’t that close.

The Flyers hit their first six shots to serve early notice that they were in The Bahamas for more than a walk on the beach and a swim with the dolphins. They said as they embarked for Nassau that it was a business trip and the Flyers were all business.

They scored the last seven points of the first half to construct a 37-26 lead and built the margin to 15 midway through the second half. They shot 54 per cent for the game.

Josh Cunningham, after missing the first two games with a hand injury, followed his 9-for-10 shooting in his first game against Purdue Fort Wayne by hitting 7-of-11 Wednesday for 18 points and hooking seven rebounds, a big man among men.

Jalen Crutcher led the way with 20 points. And the Flyers held Butler’s high-scoring Kamar Baldwin, averaging 23, to 11 on 5 of 17 shooting.

During the game, a TV broadcaster said, “Last year, Dayton couldn’t guard anybody. They were awful defensively. They just didn’t buy in.”

Well, the Flyers made a major purchase on this day and made a major statement. They might be better than fans thought they would be, a whole bunch better.

—QUOTE: From hockey icon Gordie Howe: “All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.” (Wonder which one Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was speaking in his post-game locker room?)

—Wright State took a tough punch in the gut in Cancun, losing its second game in a row in Mexico, 77-76, to SMU. The Raiders led most of the way, including 39-33 at the half. And they led, 68-67, with three minutes left.

Mark Hughes hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to push WSU in front, 76-75. But SMU scored with four seconds left and Cole Gentry couldn’t get a driving layup to fall at the buzzer. And WSU fell.

Man Mountain Loudon Love led WSU with 19 points and 14 rebounds while Hughes and Gentry scored 14 and Alan Vest came off the bench to score 11. But the Raiders couldn’t stop Jamal McMurray, who scored 27, and Jimmy Witt Jr., who scored 18, including the game-winner with four seconds left.

Don’t be fooled by Wright State’s 3-3 record at this point. The Raiders will be THE major force in the Horizon League.

—QUOTE: From former NFL star Frank Gifford: “Pro football is like nuclear warfare: there are no winners, just survivors.” (At the rate NFL players are going down with injuries there may be no survivors.)

—So Duke isn’t the King. Some basketball observers said Duke could beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on a neutral site. So does that mean Gonzaga could beat the Sacramento Kings on a neutral site?

Gonzaga yanked the Superman capes off Duke Wednesday night in Maui, 89-87. The Dukes are said to have three freshmen who will go in the first round of next year’s NBA draft.

Gonzaga only has one, Japanese-born Rui Hachimura. And he took over the game in the final couple of minutes en route to 20 points and nine rebounds.

Duke led, 2-0, their only lead. Gonzaga led by as many as 14 in the first half and 16 in the second half. A Blue Devils blue streak rush tied it at 87.

Hachimura missed two shots under the basket, grabbed his own rebound and dropped it in to put Gonzaga up 89-87 with 1:15 left. Gonzaga tried to hand it over by missing four free throws, two by Hachimura with 10 second left. Brandon Clarke clanked two with 30 seconds left and Hachimura came up empty on two more with 10 seconds left.

Gonzaga then set up the Great Wall of Japan under the basket as the Zags blocked four shots in the final 46 seconds, two by
Hachimuru. Brandon Clarke swatted away R.J. Barrett’s driving attempt at the buzzer.

—QUOTE: From Hall of Fame baseball player Rogers Hornsby: “I don’t want to play golf. When I hit a ball I want someone else to chase it.” (Anybody out there going to pay to watch Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson take a walk through a pasture for $9 million? Not me.)

—The first big bucks spent this off-season by the Cincinnati Reds for pitching was not spent on acquiring outside pitching. It went to a pitcher already on the roster, closer Raisel Iglesias.

The Reds signed him to a three-year $25 million deal, which bought out his arbitration rights. And what might that mean? It means he is easier to trade.

What the Reds really should do, as they search for starting pitching, is stretch Iglesias out this spring and put him in the rotation. How important is a closer to a team that finishes last every year?

He once was a starter and started Opening Day a couple of years ago. But when the Reds traded Aroldis Chapman, Iglesias became the closer.

Like Chapman, like Iglesias. The Reds wanted Chapman to return to the rotation but he fell in love with the closer role and resisted. And Iglesias is the same way. He loves closing and that’s what he wants to do.

Whatever happened to a team telling the player what his role is instead of the player telling the team his role?

—QUOTE: From former New York Yankees outfielder Luis Polonia: “The Yankees are interested in only one thing and I don’t know what that is.” (That’s easy, Luis. M-o-n-e-y.)

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after covering the UD-North Florida basketball game for PressProsMagazine and discovering that Ohio State can play defense, except it was the basketball team doing it in Cincinnati, stunning the Bearcats, 64-56.

—It isn’t clear if the University of Dayton discovered this on a grant from the pickle industry, but the Flyers basketball team used pickles Wednesday night for medicinal purposes. So who needs marijuana?

UD red shirt freshman Obi Toppin, starting only because senior Josh Cunningham injured his wrist in practice, came down with the cramps in the second half. So what did athletic trainer Mike Mulcahey do? He fed him pickles.

“And I love pickles,” said Toppin. “I ate every one he had.” And Toppin returned to the game to lead the Flyers with a double-double, 18 points, 10 rebounds, in a 78-70 win over North Florida.

And Toppin wowed the mob in UD Arena with three windmill dunks, this from a kid who didn’t dunk until his senior year in high school.

“I couldn’t dunk,” he said. “I didn’t do it until my senior year in high school. First it was in practice. Even though I was 6-foot-6. I just couldn’t, really couldn’t. I tried my junior year in high school and missed. Then I did it my first game my senior year.”

What is Toppin going to do in the future to avoid cramps. “I’m going to drink water,” he said. “A lot of water.” And maybe he should pack a jar of Claussen Kosher Dills in his back pack.

—After watching Duke dominate and destroy Kentucky on the basketball floor, 118-84, the first thought that came to mind: “Is Kentucky now a football school?”

—Best quote on election night came from new Ohio governor Mike DeWine during his acceptance speech: “The ads are over and it is now safe to watch TV again.”

DeWine, by the way, is a huge Cincinnati Reds fan and his family owns the Class A Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League under the ownership title of DeWine Seeds Silver Dollar Baseball, LLC. Governor DeWine’s son, Brian, runs the team.

The Tourists plays in quaint and historic McCormick Field, built in 1924. The right field wall is just 300 feet from home plate and is 36 feet high, one foot shorter than Fenway Park’s left field Green Monster. MLB limited the height to 36 feet so that Fenway retains the honor of having professional baseball’s highest outfield wall.

—Since they re-entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, the Cleveland Browns have started 31 different quarterbacks, nearly all ineffectively. Maybe current occupant Baker Mayfield can do what the Green Bay Packers do.

The Packers find a quarterback and keep them. Bart Starr was Green Bay’s quarterback for seasons, Brett Favre was the starter for 16 years and Aaron Rodgers is at 11 years and counting.

—What does it say about America if the 3-and-5 Dallas Cowboys are ‘American’s Team’ and they’ve made the playoffs twice in the last eight years?

—The popular thing these days is to name the G.O.A.T. in sports — the Greatest Of All Time. The current debate is for NFL quarterbacks — Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees. That’s easy. Tom Brady. Just check the rings on his fingers.

Other G.O.A.T.’s and they are all IMHO (in my humble opinion:

All-time pro running back: Emmit Smith? No, Jim Brown.

All-time pro basketball coach: Phil Jackson or Greg Popovich? No, Red Auerbach.

All-time heavyweight champion: Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) or Joe Louis? No, Rocky Marciano.

All-time World Series game: 2018 18-inning Game 3 Boston win over Los Angeles? No, 1975 12-inning Game 6 Boston win over Cincinnati.

All-time NBA player: Larry Byrd or Magic Johnson or Wilt Chamberlain? No, Michael Jordan.

All-time pro hockey player: Wayne Gretzkey or Bobby Orr? No, Gordie Howe.

All-time pro football coach: Bill Belichick or Paul Brown? No, Vince Lombardi.

All-time college football coach: Nick Saban or Urban Meyer or Ara Parseghian? No, Bear Bryant.

All-time major league baseball team: 2018 Boston Red Sox or 1927 New York Yankees or 1998 New York Yankees? No, 1976 Cincinnati Reds.

—Bryce Harper reportedly turned down a 10-year $300 million offer from his team, the Washington Nationals. Geez, how much money does one man need?

In 1985, Andre Dawson, a free agent, showed up a the Chicago Cubs spring training camp and gave the Cubs a blank contract and said, “You fill in the numbers.” And for $500,000 the Cubs received a Hall of Fame outfielder. The MLB minimum salary for 2019 will be $555,000.

—Just finished my last Reese’s Cup that I refused to give to the little beggars on Trick or Treat night.

By HAL McCOY

The not-finished cosmetics, part of the $72 million makeover of University of Dayton Arena, was evident and the new uniforms worn by the Flyers basketball team were spiffy.

As added trinkets, the visiting Capital University team is coached by UD Hall of Famer Damon Goodwin and one of the three officials was former Flyer Edwin Young.

Those, though, aren’t specifically what 10,446 fans came to see. They came to witness the birth of the 2018-19 UD basketball team in an exhibition game against a Division III team.

What they saw from the Flyers wasn’t as pretty and spiffy as the Arena upgrades. There is work to do on offense. There is work to do on defense.

But the game was a perfect laboratory for the Flyers. Capital is a Division III school, but the basketball team is as solid as Division III gets.

The crowd did see a highly-talented, well-coached Division III team that put up a good scrap for most of the game in spite of being outmanned and outgunned before falling, 89-71. With 13 minutes left, the Flyers led by only 58-51.

The Crusaders return 11 players from last season, including all-Ohio Conference players Joey Weingartener and Austin Schreck.

Weingartener, a 6-2 senior from Centerville, averaged 14 points a game, while Schreck averaged 15.3 and another returnee, Caleb Cox, averaged 10.7.

And Weingartener wasn’t intimidated by the fact he was playing in front of more fans than probably will see him in a month of games at Capital. He scored 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting and he made his first six three-point launches.

UD coach Anthony Grant thought Capital was the perfect testing grounds for his Flyers and said, “I’m pleased we were able to get this experience as an exhibition game that doesn’t count on your record, but you still want to play well and see your guys execute the things you’ve worked on.

“We will be able to see a lot from this game, see areas we need to improve on, see areas that can become strengths for our lineup. This was good stuff for us. I couldn’t have scripted it any better for what we need to do to prepare for the season.”

Grant got what was expected from some of the returnees — 15 points from Trey Landers on 7 of 8 shooting that included two roof-rattling dunks, 11 points and 11 rebounds from Josh Cunningham, with eight of his 11 points coming in a row late in the game, pushing the Flyers from a 70-58 lead to 78-63.

Ryan Mikesell sat out last season after hip surgery and returned with authority. He scored UD’s first five points, hitting a ‘3’ to start the game. He finished with 12 points.

“He was excited to play,” said Grant. “It has been a while since he has been on the court. He played with great energy. I was happy for him to get back out there because he has been through a lot.”

And the new guys? Two stood out, junior college transfer Jhery Matos from the Dominican Republic and red-shirt freshman Obi Toppin. Matos, a junior, scored 15 points in 19 minutes, making six of seven shots, three of four from the three-point line. And what impressed his coach? Defense.

“Jhery was really patient and benefited from the extra passes his teammates made to find him,” said Grant. “The best Jhery did was give us some very good minutes on the defensive end. He was locked in with what he needed to do on defense. He guarded a variety of different positions and he might be the guy for us, from the defensive standpoint. He could be a difference-maker.”

Toppin, a lanky 6-foot-7 still has some defensive deficiencies, but is enthusiastic and exciting. He scored 10 via five-of-six from the field, including a couple of glass-shaking dunks.

“Obi played well,” Grant added. “For his first college game. . .it has been a long wait for him, not being able to play last year. He benefited from being able to practice with us, watch games and develop physically. He was prepared tonight and for his first experience he handled it really well.”

The heart-warming story is that of Jhery Matos and his many detours from the Dominican Republic to Dayton.

Of his journey into a UD uniform, Matos said, “I’ve been traveling every year, moving to a new school every year and it hasn’t been easy. But finally I feel this is my place, this is home for me.”

Counting high school, Matos has attended five schools in Miami, in Orlando, junior college in Florida and a transfer to Monroe Junior College in New York, “And now I’m here,” he said.

“I’ve had a hell of a ride and it has been crazy,” he said. “The people here, the community, has shown me love all the time. It’s 24/7, they are here for you and I appreciate that.

“I was excited about playing for the first time in front of these awesome fans,” he said. “I was focused on defense because that’s what the coach has been talking to me about all the time. My defense is getting better and better. Like coach says, when you play good defense the offense comes to you.”

About his deadly three-point shooting, he said, “Initially, I wasn’t a three-point shooter. I was more attack and create. But last year I improved because I was the leading scorer on my team (at Monroe), so I had to score from all levels. I learned a lot about shooting from last year and this year coach Grant has given me the green light to take the shots.”

Speaking of colors, Matos wore shocking pink shoes for his Dayton Debut and laughed and said, “You know, you have to come with a little swagger, you have to bring a little swag.”

Playing in front of 10,000-plus, which will swell to 13,000 when the regular season begins Wednesday against North Florida, was a kick for Matos, “Because in Juco we played in front of maybe 200. Not many. There were a lot of cameras tonight and maybe we had one at Monroe. And I’m being interviewed after the game. That never happened.”

Based on the way he played Friday, there are many points in his future, many difficult defensive assignments in his future and many post-game interviews in his future.

Asked if he has found any restaurants in Dayton that serves Dominican food, he said, “No, not yet. I eat a lot of Chipotle. You know, rice and beans.”

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave while awaiting a dinner delivery from Door Dash, the best innovation since the drive-thru at Wendy’s.

—The University of Dayton still refuses to meet Wright State University in basketball, not on its court, not on WSU’s court, not on a neutral court, not in a back alley.

And there might be a good reason this year. Every year CBS Sports rates the Division I basketball teams in each state, sort of their State of the Basketball Union.

And this may come as a stunner to some, especially those occupying those cushy seats in UD Arena. Wright State was rated No. 4 in Ohio. UD was rated No. 8. Say what?

Cincinnati, Xavier and Ohio State are the top three. Then comes Wright State, Toledo, Miami, Kent State and Dayton. Below the Flyers are Ohio U., Akron, Bowling Green, Cleveland State and Youngstown State.

—Willie McCovey, the fearsome Gentle Giant of the San Francisco Giants, passed away this week at age 80.

Nobody had more respect for the awesome power of McCovey than former Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson. He refused to let McCovey beat him.

Before games, Anderson would walk past the Giants dugout and when he spotted McCovey he would hold up four fingers, indicating four balls and a walk. During McCovey’s career, Sparky ordered McCovey intentionally walked 37 times.

“I’d be sitting in our dugout, and he’d walk by putting four fingers up, telling me he was going to walk me,” said McCovey. “Sparky, he didn’t want to pitch to me.

—Miami of Ohio quarterback Gus Ragland, a senior from Cincinnati, is a fun guy to watch as he throws around the football — 15 touchdown passes this year and 2,082 yards.

The RedHawks, though, are not much fun to watch on defense. Four times this season they have scored 28 or more points and lost — 35-28 to Marshall, 40-39 to Western Michigan, 31-30 to Army in double overtime and 51-42 to Buffalo.

That’s understandable. There is no ‘D’ in Miami and no ‘D’ in RedHawks.

—One of the worst NFL performances of the year was enacted on TV Thursday night, a dismal night by coach Jon Gruden’s Oakland Raiders.

They were playing their despised cross bay rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, and lost 34-3 and the Raiders couldn’t do much worse on God’s green grass.

And rookie quarterback Nick Mullens was making his NFL debut for The Niners. Mullens is from Southern Mississippi University, the same school that produced Brett Favre. And Mullens wears the same No. 4 Favre wore. Mullens’ coming-out party was 16 for 22, 262 yards and three touchdowns.

The 49ers were 1-and-7 at the time and Oakland is now 1-and-7, their only win a 45-42 shootout over the Cleveland Browns, and the Browns led, 42-28 early in the fourth quarter.

Wonder if Gruden wishes he could return to the comforts of the broadcast booth, like next week?

—My favorite road restaurants: St. Elmo’s Steakhouse (Indianapolis), Charley Gitto’s (St. Louis), The Saloon (Chicago, but defunct), Pappasito’s (Houston), Scoma’s-Sausalito (San Francisco), The Buckhorn (Denver), Legal Seafood (Boston), Bookbinder’s (Philadelphia), Cucina Urbana (San Diego), The Broken Egg (Siesta Key), Pacific Dining Car (Los Angeles), Primanti Brothers (Pittsburgh), Tavern on the Green (New York City).

—My favorite Dayton-area restaurants:
The Oakwood Club (steak), Mamma DiSalvo’s (Italian), La Fiesta (Mexican), Buckhorn Tavern (ribs), Company 7 (barbecue), Firehouse (subs), Marion’s (pizza), Bullwinkle’s (burgers), Bonefish Grille (seafood), Shen’s (Chinese), Coldwater Cafe (fine dining), Mom’s-Franklin (breakfast), Basil’s (libations), El Meson (eclectic).

—So J.R. Smith wants out of Cleveland? Cavaliers fans would have purchased him a first class ticket to Anchorage after his bonehead play last year ended the Cavs’ season.

If they accommodated every athlete who currently wants out of Cleveland they could fill a 747. The only stable franchise is the Cleveland Indians and it wasn’t long before most guys wearing Indians uniforms wanted out of town until Terry Francona stabilized things.

And remember when Bill Belichick coached the Browns from 1991 until he was fired, yes, fired by the Browns in 1995? Anybody remember when Belichick was head coach of the New York Jets. . .for one day? He was named head coach of the Jets in early 2000 and resigned one day later to take the job with the New England Patriots.

—I’ve often wonder if it was a demented comedian who came up with the name Uranus for a planet making the poor heavenly body the laughingstock of the astronomy world. Actually, the Romans named Uranus, their Greek god of the sky.

—How many out there know where the University of Central Florida is located, other than to say, “Central Florida?” It is in Orlando and no Mickey Mouse jokes about the football program.

What’s the team nickname? It is Knights and the Knights beat Temple Thursday night, 52-40, go to 8-and-0 this year and extend their winning streak to 21 straight.

UCF, through no fault of its own, has played nobody because it plays in the American Athletic Conference, but is ranked No. 9 in the country, one slot ahead of Ohio State.

Laughable? Well, with OSU’s defense, a game between the two might end up 63-62. The Knights have a Heisman Trophy quarterback candidate named McKenzie Milton, who is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Milton McKenzie because he has a last name for a first name and a first name for a last name.

UCF’s sternest test comes November 17 when it faces the University of Cincinnati in Orlando and the Bearcats (7-1) are legit. The Bearcats beat UCLA in Los Angeles. UC’s only loss was a crusher, a 24-17 overtime loss at Temple.

—Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to find a ride to Taco Bell to get my free Doritos Locos Taco, thanks to Mookie Betts stealing second base in Game 1 of the World Series. It is amazing that under the current baseball metrics that anybody even tried to steal a base. Of course, the Dodgers couldn’t get on base, let alone steal one.

By HAL McCOY

A long and mostly disappointing University of Dayton basketball season came to a crashing conclusion Thursday afternoon in the nation’s capital.

The Flyers, though, did not end their season without a scrappy fight against Virginia Commonwealth in their first game (and last) of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

It was one-and-done for the Flyers, but they left some bruises on VCU, which gets the honor Friday of playing No. 1 seed Rhode Island.

UD trailed closely most of the game, then put on a late surge to take a five-point lead with 3:13 left in the game.

Then they reverted to the type of play that earned them 17 losses this season. They made a bundle of mistakes that led to a 10-0 VCU breakaway and the Rams recorded a 77-72 victory.

Ironically, the game involved the two teams that were seeded No. 1 (Dayton) and No. 2 (VCU) in the previous two A-10 tournaments. This game, though, was a match-up of No. 8 seeded VCU and No. 9 seeded Dayton.

The game, though, resembled a 1-2 skirmish, a fierce battle of wills that got chippie at times.

The Flyers did nearly everything coach Anthony Grant desired. Nearly.

—They put the clamps to VCU’s Justin Tillman, who scored 26 and 37 points against them in two regular season games. He scored only three in the first half, but was significant in what he did down the stretch, scoring 12 in the second half.

—They pounded the ball inside to Josh Cunningham, the ‘Rim Rat,’ and he scored 17 points and hauled in 11 rebounds. Trey Landers scored 19 and grabbed 10 rebounds, giving the Flyers two players with double-doubles.

—The Flyers entered the game averaging the most turnovers in the A10 against the team that forced the most turnovers. But they committed only three in the first half and 10 for the game. But three at the end cost them the game.

—UD had a room full of open three looks, uncontested three, but couldn’t hit many and went 5 for 21. Jalen Crutcher was 1 for 7 and Jordan Davis was 2 for 7.

VCU led most of the game with the Flyers hanging close most of the way, trailing by no more than nine.

They Flyers were down by seven, 53-46 with 12 ½ minutes left and then staged an 8-0 run the put them up 58-57 with 7:45.

The game went back-and-forth from there until it was 63-all with 5 ½ left. In the next two-and-a-half minutes the Flyers went on a 7-2 streak to build a 70-65 lead with only 3:13 left.

Then came the disintegration.

De’riante Jenkins buried a three to cut the lead to two. The next two times down the floor the Flyers couldn’t get off a shot and were tagged with shot clock violations.

Isaac Vann drove for a basket after the first violation to tie it.

After the second violation, VCU nearly saw the shot clock expire, but at the last second point guard Jonathan Williams, the league’s leader assist leader, tried to find Tillman under the basket.

When he couldn’t do it, he spun near the hoop and flipped a left handed Hail Mary heave and it banked into the basket for a VCU lead, 72-70, with 50 seconds left.

The Flyers tried to get the ball inside the Cunningham and VCU’s Mike’l Simms stole it with 33 second left. The Flyers fouled Williams and he made 1 of 2 for a 73-70 lead.

Trey Landers drove toward the basket and his wild shot missed at :22, forcing the Flyers to foul and Williams made two with 0:19 seconds left, ending VCU’s 10-0 run that put them in front, 75-70, and the Flyers were history.

While the Flyers held Tillman to five below his average, VCU’s supporting cast covered for him. All five starters hit double figures (Tillman 15, Williams 14, Jenkins 11, Sean Mobley 11 and Vann 10.

And VCU received 16 more off the bench while the Flyers had seven, all seven by Kostas Antetokounmpo.

Dayton’s only senior scholarship player, Darrell Davis scored 14 in his final game and reached the 1,000 career points scored when he hit a three five minutes into the second half.