The Dayton Flyers put up a valiant effort tonight, but were defeated once again to long-time rival Xavier in Cincinnati 82-72. The Flyers move to 12-9 on the season while unranked and unappreciated Xavier moves to 16-3.

Fans may have been expecting a Xavier blowout from the opening tip. But to Dayton’s credit, the short-handed Flyers started off the game on a tear, grabbing a 20-11 advantage early on. But as one would expect with this series, a Xavier run was soon at hand. The Musketeers inside presence began to take shape as David West muscled in several close-range field goals. The Flyers simply got out hustled on the boards, after dominating the glass to begin the half.Xavier, more specifically Mo McAfee, answered 3-point shots from Dayton’s David Morris and Ramod Marshall. McAfee finished 18 points on 6-9 from the field. The Flyers trailed 35-32 at the half.Early in the second session Dayton moved ahead of Xavier thanks to a run fueled by three consecutive 3-pointers, but Xavier’s inside game was too much for the Flyers. West finished with a game-high 25 points and 11 boards on the evening. Dayton’s freshman center was no match for the sophomore star, and weak side help was virtually non-existent.Dayton was once again troubled by the full-court press. The Flyers committed 16 turnovers, do in large part to Xavier’s pressure defense. Xavier also keyed in on Tony Stanley. Stanley followed Saturday’s 30-point outburst with 2-17 from the field. But to his credit, he hustled after loose balls, corralling 9 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists. Yuanta Holland came off the bench and chipped in 11 points and 5 rebounds — 4 of them offensive. Unfortunately,

Dayton can’t count its veterans this season to bring their “A” game on a nightly basis. Stanley, while explosive offensively, has been plagued by streak shooting all throughout his career, and it hasn’t worked itself out in his final season. But as Stanley goes, so goes this team.If not for consistent performances from Dayton’s newcomers, this season would be in shambles right now. Freshman center Keith Waleskowski is shouldering Dayton’s marginal inside game while Marshall has developed into a fairly solid contributor from either guard position. Dayton is short-handed this season, no doubt. But for any success to be had, they will need to see more consistency out of the veterans.