WOW! Brooks Hall takes a strike from Tony Stanley with 23 seconds to go and buries his only 3-pointer of the night since opening the game with a trey. The basket sent the record-tying UD Arena crowd into a frenzy, and propelled the Flyers to a 68-64 victory over a tough St. Bonaventure ball club.

In what can only be described as an outstanding college basketball game, the Dayton Flyers improve to 18-5 (8-3), and gain some much needed momentum for Thursday night’s showdown with nationally ranked Temple. Flyer fans, including “little sibs,” were treated to 22 lead changes, six double-digit scorers, numerous dunks, and a thrilling come-from-behind surge in the final two minutes.

St. Bonaventure kept the Flyers guessing offensively in the first half — taking a 33-32 lead into the break. Dayton had trouble getting good looks in the paint thanks to terrific man-to-man defensive pressure by the Bonnies. Mark Ashman however managed to cut loose and drain a couple of his patented jumpers. Tony Stanley converted several critical three-pointers to keep the game tight. Stanley finished with 23 points on 9-15 shooting, 5-10 from 3-point land. Ashman, Nate Green, and Yuanta Holland had their hands full down low with Caswell Cyrus and Peter Van Paassen. The duo combined for 37 points and 11 rebounds. The Flyers — Holland and Ashman in particular — did an excellent job on the offensive glass in the second half to pull out the win. Mark Ashman finished with 22 points and 9 boards in his 111th consecutive start.

The Flyers did a better job defending the 3-point line. The Bonnies managed only 29% while no player converted more than one shot. The always-dangerous Tim Winn dropped in 13 points but it took him 14 shots to do it. At the other end, Winn and company contained Dayton’s guards as well. Edwin Young and David Morris combined for seven points and six rebounds. However, both guards did a nice job distributing the ball and penetrating to loosen up the Bonnie interior defense. Young finished with seven assists.

Although not a stellar overall night for Brooks Hall, the freshman stepped up with the game on the line. With 2:55 to play, UD found itself down by five points and struggling to answer Caswell Cyrus and Peter Van Paassen. The Flyers pulled themselves together and began to crash the boards with authority. Dayton took the lead with under two minutes to go, but found themselves in a dogfight as Tim Winn sank a basket to regain the advantage for the Bonnies.

Fans and players began to feel a sense of urgency as Charlie Robinson announced “one minute.” St. Bonaventure could not extend its lead and Dayton took possession with 42 seconds to go. With time running down, Hall took a pass from Stanley and absolutely drilled a long 3-pointer to take the lead again as 13,553 fans erupted.

Edwin Young sealed the victory with a pair of clutch free throws.

The Flyers dodged a bullet on Saturday — no doubt about it. St. Bonaventure gave the Flyers and the Flyer Faithful a tremendous effort. Dayton will look to build on the win during practice this week as John Chaney’s Temple Owls come calling on Thursday. The storybook season marches on.