Category: Dayton Flyers

By HAL McCOY

One of the favorite quotes uttered all season by University of Dayton senior forward Kendall Pollard is, “Whatever it takes.”

And once again the Flyers put that quote to good use during a rugged night at the University of Rhode Island.

What it took Friday night was a lot of intensity, a lot of never-give-up, a lot of help from the bench and a tense, gutty three-point shot by sophomore bench player Xeyrius Williams to beat Rhode Island, 75-74.

With the Flyers down by two points and the clock nosing quickly toward 0:00, Williams calmly took aim from the left side after taking a pass from Scoochie Smith and buried the game-winning three-pointer.

It was deja vu for Rhode Island — same situation, different player. A year ago in Kingston, R.I., the Flyers also won the game on a last ditch three-pointer, that time by Darrell Davis.

But it wasn’t over this time when Williams hit his three. There were still 0:07.7.2 seconds left. The Rams moved the ball downcourt and Jared Terrell barged toward the basket. Pollard blocked his way and the ball squirted out of bounds.

It appeared to bounce off Tererell’s chest, but the officials ruled it belonged to Rhode Island and gave them an out-of-bounds play with 0:01.4 seconds left.

When the Rams tried to inbounds the pass it flew awry to half-court as time expired and the Flyers earned a big, big, big Atlantic 10 victory.

If the Flyers had lost, they would have fallen into a tie with Rhode Island at 9-and-3. Instead, Rhode Island toppled to 8-and-4 and the first-place Flyers climbed to 10-and-2. And it gave the Flyers a noteworthy road victory to enhance their RPI work sheet.

Williams, a 6-foot-8 graduate of Wayne High School in Huber Heights, a long jump shot from the UD campus, came off the bench to score 13 points on five of seven shooting, 2 of 4 from the three-point line.

And it was a bench victory for the Flyers. Their non-srarters outscored Rhode Island’s bench brigage 24-3.

As happens so often this season, the Flyers played the first half in a daze and a haze and fell behind by as many as 11 points. They were down 29-18 with four minutes left in the half because they had made only 5 of 25 shots — 2 for 14 before Ryan Mikesell hit a three after the Flyers made a couple of free throws, cutting it to 29-23.

Despite shooting only 27.6 per cent, their second worst first half of the season, the Flyers trailed by only 36-30 —mainly because of hustle and heart on defense. They forced eight first-half turnovers.

The Flyers came out with smoke coming out of their nostrils to start the second half and grabbed their first lead of the game at 37-36 on two Kendall Pollard free throws.

From there it was back-and-forth, forth-and-back and before the game ended it was tied nine times and the lead changed from team-to-team 11 times.

Dayton’s biggest lead of the second half was three points with 8:22 left. And they were down, 73-69 with 25 seconds left.

But Williams hit a three with 0:18.6 seconds left to draw the Flyers within one. Rhode Island’s E.C. Matthews made one of two free throws at 0:24.4 to give the Rams a 74-72 lead.

Then Williams struck again with his dagger.

It was a night the Flyers had to do it when their leader, point guard Scoochie Smith, was not at his best. He was saddled with fouls and made only 3 of 10 shots en route to seven points. But he had a couple of other big sevens — seven assists and seven rebounds.

Charles Cooke continues to struggle with his shooting, hitting 4 of 11 on his way to 13 points. But old reliable, Kendall Pollard banged in 17, eight coming from the free throw line on 10 attempts.

After missing 21 games with a torn ligament, Josh Cunningham returned to action, albeit very limited. He played exactly two minutes and drew three fouls. The rest of the line on his score sheet was a string of zeros.

But, as Pollard likes to say, “Whatever it takes.” And the Flyers definitely took this one the hard way.

By HAL McCOY

For years and years, a trip to New York to play Fordham University was like a leisurely afternoon stroll through Central Park.

It was a game most teams could mark in the ‘W’ column before the first whistle was blown.

Not any more. Now it is like a creep through Central Park at midnight, which no person with all functioning faculties would ever contemplate doing.

THE UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON discovered that Tuesday night in Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx.

They knew going in it wouldn’t be a breeze. They know the Fordham Rams beat Virginia Commonwealth at home and they knew the Rams beat Davidson and UMass on the road.

So, the Flyers tread lightly and gave the Rams proper respect before walking away with a hard-earned 75-66 victory.

IT WASN’T AS EASY as the score might suggest. With six minutes left Fordham owned a 60-59 lead. UD outscored the Rams 15-7 down the stretch.

The victory enabled the Flyers to retain a share of first place in the Atlantic-10 at 7-and-2 and pushed their season’s work sheet to 16-and-5.

It was Dayton’s 13^th straight victory over Fordham, but probably the toughest of the bunch.

AMAZINGLY THE FLYERS average only 12 turnovers a game, but they turned the ball over six times the first seven times they had the ball to begin the game.

Fortunately, the Rams are offensively challenged and thrive on defense and forcing turnovers, so UD only trailed 5-3 during the first six minutes when they kept turning the ball over to Fordham.

Fordham stayed in the game in the first half with a blizzard of three-pointers, a facet of the game at which UD usually thrives — preventing threes.

Fordham buried nine in the first half, five by Chris Sengfelder.

Dayton built a nine-point lead, 39-30, late in the first half, but Fordham bombed home three straight threes to tie it by halftime, 39-39.

SOMEBODY TOOK A HOSE to the Rams at halftime, especially Sengfelder. After making 5 of 9 threes in the first half, he didn’t make any in the second half. And Fordham, which made 9 of 17 in the first half, made only 2 of 8 in the second half.

Perhaps the game’s defining moment came when the Flyers trailed, 60-59, with 5 ½ minutes left.

The Rams owned the basketball but it was time for UD senior Scoochie Smith to dazzle his family and friends who populated the stands. Smith grew up three miles from Rose Hill gym.

 

On this possession, Smith stole the ball and made a quick behind the back pass to ignite a fast break that concluded with a basket by Xeyrius Williams to put the Flyers in front, 61-60.

THEY NEVER TRAILED AFTER that. And with the Flyers on top, 68-64, with 3:11 left, Smith drove the lane and hit a stop-and-popper to push UD’s advantage to 70-64.

Smith scored only 10 point and made only two shots, but took only six and was six for six at the foul line. But, as usual, he controlled the offense and was the team’s settling influence.

The offense was provided by Kendall Pollard, who set up squatter’s rights at the area around the rim and scored 25, making 8 of 11 shots and went 9 for 13 from the foul line.

The Flyers were deadly at the foul line, 23 for 27. They outscored the Rams in the paint 32-26 and outscored them off turnovers 18-14.

Sengfelder led Fordham with 21 but fouled out late in the game. Fordham’s leading scorer and rebounder, Javonte Hawkins, scored only two points on 1 of 6 shooting and fouled out with four minutes left.

 

 

 

 

 

By HAL McCOY

OLEAN, N.Y. — Former major league catcher/broadcaster/humorist Joe Garagiola wrote a book, “Baseball Is a Funny Game.”

Baseball isn’t any funnier than college basketball and the University of Dayton Flyers proved that Tuesday night.

Only the St. Bonaventure Bonnies failed to see the humor in UD’s 90-74 stunner.

JUST FIVE DAYS AGO, the Flyers couldn’t throw the ball into a creek from a canoe from the three-point line and the foul line against La Salle.

Only because La Salle is not very good were the Flyers able to post an 11-point victory despite 3 of 22 from three-point range and 15 of 31 from the foul line.

AND THAT WAS IN the comfy, cozy environs of UD Arena. On Tuesday, they were at St. Bonaventure, where it is normally as difficult to walk away with a victory as it is to walk out of a bank without being recorded on a video camera.

Based on the fact the Flyers resembled The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight at home against La Salle, the trip to the western New York hinterlands seemed like a lost voyage.

Mix in the fact that leading scorer Charles Cooke sat on the bench in street clothes with a sore back, the task seemed insurmountable.

Oh, really.

THE FLYERS HIT ST. BONAVENTURE with the fury of a cyclone, filling the baskets with ‘threes’ and free throws at a monotonous rate.

Stir in some stirring defense and the Flyers vacated the premises with a 16-point win.

How? More like wow.

—They made 14 of 23 three-point attempts. Both Kyle Davis and Kendall Pollard were 3 of 3 from three.

—They made 18 of 25 from the foul line.

—They spread the basketball around as if it was a large hot coal for 18 assists.

—They fell behind in the first half by seven, but didn’t know the definition of panic. They just rained in threes.

—They had five players in double figures, led by Kendall Pollard’s 21, despite the fact he picked up his third foul one minute into the second half and his fourth foul with 11 minutes left.

—Kyle Davis, all 6-foot-0 of him, scored 16 points, had seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. And as broadcaster Bucky Bockhorn said after the game, “And he sold five hot dogs at halftime.”

—Ryan Mikesell, also playing in a strait jacket full of fouls, scored 16, mostly on aggressive drives to the basket to complement all the threes his teammates buried.

—Xeyrius Williams came off the bench to score 15 as the lanky sophomore continues to put gloss on his offensive game.

—Scoochie Smith scored 17 after a two-point first half and ran the offense like General Patton. And his successive threes late in the game put St. Bonaventure out of its misery.

THE FLYERS LED BY SIX with eight minutes left when Smith hit back-to-back threes to put the Flyers up, 72-58. At that point, the Flyers were 15 of 19 shooting in the second half.

Threes turned the game around in the first half, too. UD was down by seven, 23-16, when Kyle Davis hit back-to-back threes and Ryan Mikesell hit a three to put the Flyers on top, 30-28, a lead they increased to 38-31 by halftime — a lead they never relinquished.

St. Bonaventure’s two high-scoring guards, both averaging more than 20, combined for 41, but they had to work excruciatingly hard for most of them.

Jaylen Adams, averaging 23, scored 24 and Matt Mobley, averaging 20, scored 17. But neither hurt the Flyers when the game was on the line. Adams was 7 for 17 overall and 3 for 9 from three while Mobley was 5 for 13 and 4 for 9 from three.

A MAJOR OBJECTIVE FOR the Flyers was to throw spikes on the floor to stop St. Bona’s transition game and the Bonnies scored only 10 off fast breaks.

“I felt particularly good about our defensive effort, particularly in the first half,” said coach Archie Miller after his Flyers stretched their record to 11-and-3, 2-and-0 in the Atlantic 10. “Our offense really opened up in the second half. The guys were really comfortable playing with one another, sharing the ball.

“I wasn’t as pleased with our defense in the second half, but it is really hard to contain those two guys for 40 minutes, especially Jaylen Adams,” he added.

“On the road, it is just fun to win by one point, so we’ll take this,” he said. “This is a really tough-minded group right now that is really competing.”

MILLER HAD PARTICULAR PRAISE for Ryan Mikesell, easily the most aggressive player on the floor on this night.

“Ryan Mikesell was fantastic at creating offense,” said Miller. “We were able to go through him a lot. Ryan was a real difference-maker for us in the second half offensively by getting us some unique baskets we weren’t getting in the first half at the two-point range.”

The Flyers return to the scene of the crime Friday night against Rhode Island, at home at UD Arena where they were unable to hit threes or free throws against La Salle.

 

 

 

 

By HAL McCOY

Is a college basketball coach permitted to bring firecrackers into the arena and light them under the chairs of his players before a game starts?

University of Dayton basketball coach Archie Miller and his assistants need desperately to find a way to fire up the Flyers, ignite them, from the opening tip.

They have a habit of sleepwalking and daydreaming and lollygagging early in games so far this season.

To wit:

Would anyone who didn’t bare witness to the proceedings Saturday night in Chicago’s United Center believe that Northwestern beat Dayton. 67-64, despite:

—Making only one field goal in the final eight minutes?

—Making only six field goals in the second half?

—Scoring only 27 points in the second half?

—Scoring only 12 points in the final 12 minutes, 10 on free throws?

Believe it, because that’s what happen because UD played the first half the way Northwestern played the second half.

The Flyers, playing with no intensity, no fire, no aggressiveness, fell behind 11-0 to start the game. Halfway through the first half they were 3 for 15 from the field and trailed 21-12. And then it got worse. The Flyers went seven minutes without scoring, were outscored 10-0, and fell behind 31-12.

When the buzzer signaled the end of the first half the Flyers were somewhere out in the parking lot, down 40-17, missing their final 12 field goal attempts during a 15-0 Northwestern sprint.

The Flyers were 4 for 28 in the first half and a large contingent of fans who made the trip were ready to vacate the premises and search for some Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

It was evident the Flyers thought the game started at 8 o’clock. It started at 7 o’clock, but only Northwestern was playing.

Then came an amazing about face, almost as if the two teams switched uniforms at halftime. UD became Northwestern and Northwestsern became Dayton.

The Flyers turned it on. They were ultra-aggressive. They were energized. They were assertive. They applied tourniquet-like pressure on the suddenly inept Wildcats.

Northwestern owned a 22-point lead, 55-33, with eight minutes left. Xeyrius Williams hit back-to-back threes and it was if somebody defrosted a frozen spigot.

Dayton’s defensive pressure forced turnovers, bad shots and no shots and the climb from the deepest of pits began.

In the first 13 minutes of the second half Northwestern had two baskets and six turnovers and the Flyers kept tightening the screws.

When Scoochie Smith sketched a steal and a driving layup at 7:15, the Flyers were within 11 at 55-44, in the middle of a 13-0 run.

Charles Cooke drove for a basket and hit a three and UD was dogging the Wildcats, creeping to within eight at 59-51 with 3:40 to go.

Scoochie Smith stole an inbounds pass and kerplunked a three with 1:30 left and UD was spitting down the back of Northwestern’s jerseys at 59-55.

It was a whole bunch of comeback stuff, but the Flyers ran out of time, but not effort. They crept within three, 65-62 on two Smith free throws with nine second left. But Bryan McIntosh made two free throws for Northwestern with seven second left for a five-point lead. Smith drove for a basket at 0:02 to bring it back to within three.

It looked as if the Flyers would get the ball with two seconds left, down three, when Kyle Davis wrestled the ball away on the inbounds pass. The officials awarded UD the ball, but when they reviewed the play they saw that Davis had stepped out of bounds while in possession of the ball. So Northwestern received another chance to inbounds the ball and flung it down court as time expired.

So Northwestern crushed UD in the first half and UD crushed Northwester in the second half — but not quite enough. The first half UD slumber was too much.

Northwestern is 9-and-2, narrowly losing games to Norte Dame and Butler, while the Flyers are 7-and-3 with a game Wednesday night in UD Arena against Vanderbilt.

Amazingly, neither Cooke, the Flyers’ leading scorer, nor Smith scored a single point in the first half. Smith finished with 18 and Cooke had 12.

It was not a good night for the two UD players returning home to Chicago to play in front of family and friends. Kendall Pollard had seven points and only two rebounds and was foul-plagued. Kyle Davis scored two points and was 1 for 8 from the field.

Northwestern’s mission was to slow down UD’s fast break and prevent points in the paint, two of the Flyers’ best offensive weapons. The Wildcats succeeded by giving up only 16 points in the paint and seven on fast breaks. And Northwestern outrebounded the flyers, 36-25.

Just call it a Tale of Two Halves, but a spirited flurry of a comeback by the Flyers in the second half fell short.

By HAL McCOY

The University of Dayton Flyers played Saint Joseph’s Tuesday night in UD Arena.

No, no, no. It wasn’t THE Saint Joseph’s, the fellow Atlanta 10 Conference member, the Hawks from Philadelphia.

These were the Saint Joseph’s Pumas, a Division II school of 2,000 from Rensselaer, Ind. — and if you can spell Rennselaer you are a Rensselaerite or a Rensselaerian or whatever they are called.

Had the Flyers been playing the Saint Joseph’s Hawks instead of the St. Joseph’s Pumas they would have been covered with red-faced embarrassment.

The Flyers were such prohibitive favorites that not even Las Vegas put out a line on the game.

Oh, the Flyers won, 91-59, but to say they won ugly is to insult the word ugly — at least until the final 10 minutes when the game turned into junk basketball and the Flyers wore down the outmanned and outgunned Pumas.

Early on, the obviously overconfident and lackadaisical Flyers permitted four offensive rebounds in the first two minutes, missed three point blank slam dunks, missed a couple of open layups, threw up an air ball on an open shot and an air ball on a free throw and played like a Cadillac with a Pinto engine.

UD coach Archie Miller was aghast from the opening tip. Just 1 ½ minutes into the game, with the score 4-4, he made three substitutions, leaving Charles Cookie and Kyle Davis as the only starters in the game.

Only because they were bigger, stronger, swifter and more talented, the Flyers led at halftime, 39-30. And Miller’s halftime repartee probably isn’t something a father would say to his daughter.

Normally, a team returns to the floor five minutes before the start of the second half, but the Flyers didn’t return until nearly a minute to go.

The score says the Flyers spliced their act together, outscoring the Pumas in the second half, 52-29, but it was more the ineptness and overmatched Pumas collapsing than anything the Flyers did. UD made 20 of 33 second half shots, most of them fast breaks after missed shots or turn overs.

On the positive side, the Flyers had 15 steals that led to 15 points and they blocked 11 shots. Guard Kyle Davis, known more for his defensive prowess than his offensive weaponry, led the Flyers with a career-best 18 points. He made 8 of 9 shots and has scored in double figures four straight games.

After a plodding 1 for 6 first half, Charles Cookie finished with 18 points and Kendall Pollard, playing his second game of the season, missed his first two dunk attempts, then hit one, and also made a ‘3’ en route to 14 points. And Scoochie Smith contributed 13 in the four-pronged attack.

The Flyers had 52 points in the paint against the smaller Pumas.

But on the negative side, UD only outbrebounded Saint Joseph’s 24-20 and he Pumas had 14 offensive rebounds. But Saint Joseph’s turnovers led to 34 UD points.

The score looks good, but the execution wasn’t stellar and there is a lot for the players to digest when Miller has a film session to discuss the many minuses of this misleading victory that left the Flyers 6-and-2.

 

 

By HAL McCOY

It was no surprise that the University of Dayton Flyers took care of business Saturday afternoon in UD Arena against Winthrop University, a 6,000-student institution in Rock Hill, S.C.

The Flyers, dominating the paint like Sherwin-Williams, dismissed the Eagles from the Big South Conference, 83-67.

THE SURPRISE WAS WHEN No. 25 took the floor for the first time this season with about 14 minutes left in the first half.

Kendall Pollard, the 6-foot-6 senior under-the-basket force, made his season’s debut after sitting out the first portion of the season with a deep thigh contusion. It was like hundred dollar bills from heaven for coach Archie Miller and his 5-and-2 Flyers.

It was a surprise entrance. Miller coyly said all this week that Pollard might begin practicing hard with the team soon.

THERE WAS NO INDICATION he would even put on his uniform to face Winthrop, but there he was dressed up with someplace to go during pre-game drills.

And there he was on the floor six minutes into the game, a huge boost for a Flyers team looking for help around he basket.

His initial appearance, though, was inauspicious. He picked up two quick offensive fouls, didn’t score and left rust specks all over the floor as the Flyers took a 33-27 halftime lead.

The second half? Welcome back, Kendall Pollard.

He scored 12 points and pretty much put the game away during one quick stretch in the second half.

POLLARD SCORED UNDERNEATH at 14:10 of the second half, his first points of the season, then scored underneath three more times in the next two minutes — an eight-point Pollard run punctuated with a fast break dunk that gave the Flyers a 49-40 lead that they kept building.

Pollard played 18 of the 40 minutes and scored 12 points on four of eight field goals and four of six from the foul line. And he chipped in with five rebounds to display what a force he can and will be for the Flyers.

IT WAS EVIDENT EARLY that the Flyers were going to attack the basket like a street person at a free Christmas dinner.

Of their 84 points, 56 came in the paint to 28 for Winthrop. And the Flyers had their fast break working at full throttle open, outscoring the Eagles 14-0 on fast break baskets.

The Flyers, who so often roam the perimeter searching for three-point shots, took only 14 and made four.

And rebounding? Cleaning and clearing the backboards has been a missing ingredient this season, but on this day the Flyers sprayed Windex on the glass with a season’s best 45 rebounds to 27 for the visitor’s.

The Flyers received their usual contributions from seniors Charles Cooke and Scoochie Smith.

Cooke scored 20 points and collected six rebounds, but the leading rebounder was point guard Smith with seven. And he added 15 points.

Scoochie rocked the house late in the first half with a Ringling Brothers basket. He drove the lane through two defenders and while falling to the floor he flipped up a left handed Our father, who art in heaven shot that fell through the hoop.

Sophomore Xeyrius Williams, who started the season as a non-entity, has become a weapon off the bench over the last four games. In 23 minutes Saturday he scored nine points including a corner three midway through the second half that ignited another 8-0 Flyers run that put Winthrop to bed for good.

 

 

 

By HAL McCOY

The school is known as the University of Dayton. The basketball team should be known as the Adversity of Dayton.

The basketball team has had more obstacles erected in front of it than a steeplechase horse. And the Flyers keep flying over them with class and style.

No complaints — no whoa is us, no why us, no toss us a towel so we can throw it in.

Adversity? It is their adopted name, the Adversity of Dayton.

The Flyers just go about their business as if it is business as usual. And so what if obstacles keep jumping up in the middle of the road and screaming, “Boo.”

The latest adventure was a three-game appearance over the weekend in the Wooden Legacy tournament in Orange County, California.

In the first round against the University of Nebraska, the Flyers started the game in neutral and fell behind by 20 points in the first half. They downshifted in the second half and had a chance to win in the dying seconds before an ill-advised shot did them in and they lost by four.

Rather than spend the rest of the weekend Mickey Mousing around in the shadows of Disneyland, the Flyers played serious basketball to beat Portland and then finish the trip Sunday with a 62-57 victory over a strong and highly regarded Univiersity of New Mexico.

Adversity? It is well-documented about what has happened to the Flyers so far this season.

—Starting center Steve McElvene, diagnosed with an enlareged heart, collapsed an died last May.

—Senior Kendall Pollard, expected to provide dominance on the backboards, has dominated a seat on the bench so far this season with a pesky hip injury and hasn’t played.

—Freshman Josh Cunningham, expected to provide what Pollard hasn’t been able to provide, wrecked his ankle and knee in the final seconds of a victory at Alabama early this season and may miss the rest of the season.

But the Flyers don’t just plod along, they play along and are doing it with style and grace.

And adversity reared its scary mug during Sunday’s victory over New Mexico.

Uncharesteristically for this season, the Flyers started fast and built a 13-point lead midway through the first half.

During the TV broadcast, ESPN’s Steve Quis said, “Does anybody think Dayton receives the love they deserve nationally?”

No, they don’t. Never do. Not until tournament time and national observers are shocked and surprised by UD’s success.

“I know one thing,” said Quis. “Dayton is not a team I’d want to face early in the NCAA tournament.”

Then, with the Flyers leading, 21-11, with eight minutes left in the half, UD’s leading scorer, Charles Cooke (averaging 21 game), crumpled to the floor.

They were playing at the Honda Center in Anaheim, home of the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks (once the Mighty Ducks but no longer mighty). The floor is laid over the ice.

Their was moisture on the floor and as Cooke made a move, he did the split and landed hard on the floor. He limped off and headed for the locker room.

New Mexico took advantage. With an 11-4 run they cut the lead to 31-25 by halftime. Cooke didn’t start the second half. He was behind the bench pedaling hard on a stationary bicycle, as if preparing for the Tour de Anaheim.

And New Mexico kept coming. The Lobos drew within 34-32 with 17 1/2 minutes remaining. And that’s when Cooke returned. He didn’t ride in on a magic carpet, or a bicycle, didn’t fill the basket with points or snag a dozen rebounds.

It was his mere presence, his steadying influence, his leadership as a senior that helped the Flyers hold on.

New Mexico didn’t own a lead until only a minute remained. Lobo star Tim Williams scored underneath to give the Lobos its first — and only — lead of the game at 57-56.

The Lobos would not score again. Cooke, playing with an Amos McCoy limp, drove the lane and was fouled at 0:46.5. He made both free throws to push the Flyers back on top, 58-57.

New Mexico (4-2) committed another of its 16 turnovers, this one forced by sophomore Ryan Mikesell and Kyle Davis flew down the floor for a fast break basket at 0:32.7 for a 60-57 UD lead.

Kyle Davis forced another turnover and Mikesell was fouled at 0:16.6. He made both. And to put the lid on it, Kyle Davi stole the ball and finished the game with a flush dunk to make it 64-57 — an 8-0 UD bustout in the final minute after they had fallen behind by one point.

The Flyers scored 23 points off New Mexico turnovers. And the three seniors each provided a dozen points — Cooke, Kyle Davis and Scoochie Smith, as the Flyers pushed their record to 4-2.

“I’m proud of our guys,” said UD coach Archie Miller. “To come out of this (tournament) 2-and-1, with a hard-fought win against a good team in New Mexico.

‘I thought we got better each game, and more importantly, the guys  did a real good job of playing hard. When you lose a big lead and get back to get a win you are really proud of your team.

“And those two guys (Charles Cooke and Scoochie Smith) were able to come in, hit some shots, and we’re right back in it,” Miller added.

Not only were they back in it, they won it — another success story for ther Adversity of Dayton Flyers.

By HAL McCOY

The University of Dayton won one and lost one Tuesday afternoon in the Tipoff Marathon in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

And the loss may be much bigger than the win, may have large repercussions down the road.

The Flyers came from behind to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide, 77-72, a road victory that shines brightly on their strength-of-schedule resume.

THE LOSS, THOUGH, CAME with four seconds left in the game. Josh Cunningham, the Flyers’ only big man, slam-dunked a game-clinching basket off a fast break pass from Scoochie Smith.

But an Alabama player undercut the 6-foot-7 sophomore transfer from Bradley as he came down. And he came down hard on his ankle. His screams of pain could be heard through the TV microphones. And there may be an injury to his knee, too.

After the game, UD coach Archie Miller painted a dim picture by saying, “Concern is with both Josh’s knee and his ankle, or lower leg area. It’s uncertain what it is exactly, but we could be looking at being without him for some time.”

And Alabama coach Avery Johnson tweeted, “I hope Josh Cunningham is going to be OK. That was a tough fall. I told coach Miller we are praying for him.”

HIS LOSS, IF THE INJURY is serious — and it appeared to be very serious — will have implications for the immediate future for the Flyers, already missing their other big man, Kendall Pollard.

Cunningham was strapped with two fouls early in the game and only played two minutes without scoring as the Flyers fell behind, 36-31 at the half. But he barged back in the second half to make five of six shots and scored 12 points.

The game was as ugly as a pug, something normal for November basketball.

The Flyers won this one in spite of themselves.

They were outrebounded 48-28 and gave up 18 offensive rebounds. Alabama constantly missed shots, grabbed rebounds, and shot again. And again.

And the Flyers shot free throws as if Alabama moved the foul line back five feet. They made only 20 of 33. Toss in 11 turnovers and UD was fortunate to walk off the floor with a win.

BECAUSE OF CUNNINGHAM’S INJURY, there was no post-game euphoria on the floor. The Flyers calmly walked back to their dressing quarters in a somber mood.

Nevertheless, the Southeastern Conference probably wants to avoid the Flyers like the Zika virus. UD has won 14 of their last 17 against the SEC, including five straight. They beat Alabama in UD Arena last year, 80-48. The Tide remembered that like the bright elephants they are. But they couldn’t avenge it.

In addition to their success against the SEC, the Flyers are 31-12 over the last five season against power five conference teams.

Scoochie Smith led the Flyers with 20 points, despite a dull day at the foul line (3 for 7). Charles Cooke chipped in with 19, despite a slow start — one basket in the first 10 minutes. But his 10 rebounds helped mightily.

Sophomore Ryan Mikesell scored 12 on 4 of 5 shooting and hit the biggest basket of the game.

THE FLYERS DIDN’T LEAD IN THE second half until Cooke muscled down the lane for a layup with seven minutes left to give the Flyers a 54-53 lead.

And it stayed tighter than a shirt collar two sizes small. The Flyers led, 65-64, when Mikesell bottomed out a three from the left corner to give UD a 68-64 lead with a minute-and-a-half to go.

Alabama crept to within two, 71-69 with 26 seconds left.

—:22.8: Cook made one of two free throws for a 72-69 lead.

—:14.9: After Alabama missed a three, Cooke made two free throws for a 74-69 lead.

—:04.4: After Alabama hit a three to cut it to 74-72, Smith hit Cunningham with a long pass and he went up for a thunderous jam-job and made it and was fouled. Because his injury incapacitated him, Mikesell shot his free throw to finish it a 77-72.

SO THE FLYERS ESCAPED WITH a victory to go 2-and-0, but didn’t escape a serious setback with Cunningham.

UD hosts nationally-ranked St. Marys Saturday in UD Arena — without Kendall Pollard and probably without Cunningham. Pollard, out with a thigh bruise, is expected back the following weekend when the Flyers are on the west coast to play in the Wooden Classic, with a possible match-up against UCLA.

By HAL McCOY

Charles Cooke took the University of Dayton Arena floor Friday night with one thought in mind: “Burn the house down.”

It was his stated objective, “To bring the heat,” a scorched earth policy designed to leave Austin Peay State University with fourth degree burns.

And that’s what Cooke did, especially in the first half, when he was as hot as a crock pot, a pressure cooker, a microwave oven and a barbecue pit combined.

In other words, Cooke cooked Austin Peay, fried them to a crisp with 24 points in the first half en route to 31 in helping the University of Dayton to a 96-68 annihilation of Austin Peay in the team’s 2016-17 regular season debut in UD Arena.

COOKE WAS PROMPTED BY the knowledge that many times last year the Flyers were glaciers at the beginning of games, slow to move, slow to start, slow on defense, slow to run the offense. And it was the same in an exhibition last Friday against Division II Findlay. The Flyers fell behind Findlay, 20-6, at the game’s beginning before they caught up midway through the second half and eventually won, 76-69.

Cooke was having none of that on this night.

“We’ve been starting real sluggishly late last year and against Findlay,” said Cooke. “I just wanted to do what I could to give my team a boost. And we took over early and applied the pressure.”

WHAT DID HE DO? HE began the game by blocking AP’s first shot of the game. He quickly converted a three-point play, the old-fashioned way — a basket and a free throw.

He finished a fast break off a steal by Scoochie Smith, rattling the rafters with a rim-rattling, backboard-bouncing dunk.

That gave the Flyers a 14-4 lead five minutes into the game. From there, Cooke became Mr. Outside, making four three pointers the rest of the half and when the buzzer sounded UD owned a 44-27 lead — and they owned Austin Peay (pronounced as pee).

THIS GAME MIGHT JUST as well have been a one-on-one playground game pitting Cookie against Austin Peay’s Josh Robinson.

Cooke nearly outscored the Governors (Austin Peay was a Tennessee governor) in the first half with his 24 to AP’s 27. And Robinson had 15 of the 27 points.

At game’s end Cooke had 31 and Robinson 26. Cooke received help from Darrell Davis, off the bench with 17 on four of seven from beyond the three-point marker.

“My mindset was just to come out and play hard,” said Cooke. “Bring everything I’ve got and if I played horrible, I played horrible.”

THE ONLY PERSON WHO believed there was anything horrible about it was AP Coach Dave Loos, in his 27^th season at the Clarksville, Tenn. School.

Cooke’s first-half heat must have reminded Loos of a long ago Austin Peay player named James “Fly” Williams, who twice in 1972 scored 51 points games. The AP student body used to chant, “The Fly is open, let’s go Peay.”

At halftime, Cooke was 8 for 11 from the field, 4 for 5 from the foul line, had two assists, two blocked shots and zero turnovers.

“Charles was fantastic the whole first half and carried us,” said UD coach Archie Miller. “Our half court offense sputtered and we’re not running it, the ball is not moving enough. But Charlies carried us.”

FOR COOKE, THE FIRST GAME was the culmination of a summer of diligence on the court, practicing shot after shot after shot until exhaustion stopped him.

“For the people up close and personal with basketball, they understand the grind,” he said. “You apply more pressure on yourself and you give yourself extra time. You put yourself through a lot and it’s hell to play, doesn’t feel good at all. But you put yourself through it for games like this.”

As a senior, Cooke is accepting a leadership role, mostly trying to set examples by playing hard every second he is on the court.

“I’m just giving it everything I’ve got and not thinking about anything else too much,” he said. “Just do everything I can to help my team win games. Do my job and bring the heat.”

THE FLYERS ARE WEARING a black ‘5’ on their jerseys, near their hearts, to honor Steve McElvene, the teammate who died in May of an enlarged heart.

Before the game, the Flyers honored his parents, presenting them with Steve’s Atlantic 10 championship ring. The entire team took the floor to present Steve’s mother with flowers. And there was an inspirational video played for the fans, who applauded non-stop through the entire proceedings.

“It’s a blessing that we’re still here and I thank God to be able to play basketball,” said Cooke. “That was icing on the cake for me because you realize a lot of people can’t do it.

“He meant everything to us,” Cooke added. “Honestly, the grind is tough, it’s hard to bring the heat. Your body is tired, you have bumps and bruises. Steve would come in and put a smile on everybody’s face. He’d say something to get us going. His spirit was never down. That was huge, especially for me.”

Asked if any part of the game was for McElvene, Cooke said, “Most definitely. It was the first real game without him. Just to not have him here and see him on that (video) tribute was like, ‘Wow.’ It was kind of crazy.”

Said Miller, “It was big and it was emotional. It was the first time we’ve seen Steve’s family since the funeral. The guys handled it well, with a lot of maturity. It is not an easy thing to watch on the video. But it was very well done.”

And so were the Flyers, especially Cooke. Well done.