The University of Dayton Flyers overcame a sluggish first half and a 51-43 deficit to beat AIA Blue Saturday night before 7,800 fans at the UD Arena. Sophomore Tony Stanley scored 25pts and senior Coby Turner chipped in 23 as Dayton ended the preseason portion of their schedule undefeated. In the first half however, things looked bleak.

Junior Mark Ashman got whistled for two fouls in the first two minutes of the contest, forcing him to sit the pine for the remainder of the half. As a result, Stephen Bamigbola, Nate Green, and Matt Cooper teamed up inside but had little luck stopping AIA’s Casey Shaw and Todd Fuller from scoring at will. Shaw ended the half with 16pts as AIA shot 60% from the field, including 6-7 from behind the arc. Dayton’s shaky defense troubled them again as AIA got open look after open look on the perimeter and easy lay-ups inside the paint. The Flyers also had difficulty on weak-side defense, leaving AIA’s sharpshooters open on the weak side for open jumpers. Rebounding was inept as well.

But oh how things can change.

Dayton came out for the second half by trading baskets until finally stepping it up and showing the Flyer Faithful why this year’s team could be one to watch. Mark Ashman stole the ball near half-court for an uncontested dunk, and Tony Stanley flushed an alley-oop pass to cut the AIA lead and get the Flyers back in the game. During this stretch, Dayton’s defense improved 150% from the prior half, forcing AIA into turnovers, difficult shots, and more physical contact.

Dayton pulled ahead by 10 with seven minutes to go and never looked back. Sophomore Yuanta Holland put an exclamation mark on the outcome when he took an Andy Metzler pass near the bottom of the circle and dunked it with a passion and physicality unseen by a player wearing a Flyer uniform in 7-10 years. It was that good.
With just second remaining, Stanley caught a pass from David Morris for yet another spectacular alley-oop that brought the crowd on its feet and lifted UD to a 99-83 lead, the largest of the game. AIA hit a trey just before the buzzer to finalize the outcome.

Of particular note, Coby Turner, Tony Stanley, and Mark Ashman played very solid. Ashman, though undersized against AIA behemoths Todd Fuller and Casey Shaw, had several nice jumpers and a couple smooth post moves to help the Flyer cause. Turner finished with 9-11 shooting including 3-3 from long distance while Stanley made 4-6 from behind the arc. For the game, Dayton shot a sizzling 10-15 from trey and nailed 19-23 free throws, the second straight game over 80%.

Yuanta Holland is a raw player with enough upside to be a promising player for UD in the coming years. David Morris added double figures in scoring and dished out 4 assists with only 1 turnover. Freshman Nate Green struggled the entire game and appeared winded on several possessions.

Andy Metzler gave the Flyers his usual scrappy play off the bench while Cain Doliboa and Matt Cooper held their own in limited action.

The Flyers start the regular season on Saturday against Kent State at the University of Dayton Arena. Kent is an athletic, scrappy team that likes to press and run. Dayton will need a strong effort from the starters and the bench or the Golden Flashes could sneak away with an opening night upset. Tip-off is 8pm.