Oliver Purnell’s team bounced back from a disappointing effort at Miami a week ago to whip Marquette 81-49 before 10,745 fans at the UD Arena. The Flyers thoroughly outclassed Mike Deane’s squad in every phase of the game to improve to 3-1 on the season while Marquette falls to 3-2. Tony Stanley led all scorers with 21 points while Mark Ashman chipped in 20 to go along with 7 boards.

The Flyers ran away from the Golden Eagles with tenacious defense lead by Edwin Young. Young, who finished the game with 12 points, 10 assists, and nary a turnover, hounded Marquette guards and caused numerous mistakes that turned into transition baskets for the Flyers. Marquette shot a dismal .327% from the field for the game and committed 23 turnovers. The Golden Eagles became so rattled and frustrated that a Marquette player rebounded a missed Flyer free throw and put it in the hoop thinking he was on the offensive end of the court. Cain Doliboa scored all of his 9 points in the first half on two treys and a three-point play to pace the Flyers early in the game.

Dayton and Marquette traded a few baskets as the opening half got underway, but Dayton soon pulled away and cruised to a 40-23 halftime lead. Marquette, who had been holding opponents to only 30% shooting on the year, had no answer for Dayton’s speed and sharpshooters as the Flyers shot .533% from the field in the game.

In the second half, Dayton picked up where they left off and quickly mounted a second half charge to push the lead to 25 by the second television timeout of the half. While Ashman and Stanley were scoring, Coby Turner concentrated his efforts on defense for the second game in a row. Turner played an outstanding floor game on the defensive end and a solid game overall despite scoring only four points. Turner took only three shots in the game but grabbed five boards and dished out three assists.

Marquette’s downfall was a lack of lateral quickness and poor shooting. The Golden Eagles played several guys over 6-5 but they were overmatched by a smaller and quicker Flyer lineup that lost very little even when Oliver Purnell called on his bench players.

David Diggs, a product of Northmont HS in Dayton, tied for the team high with 10 points for Marquette in 21 minutes of action. Diggs came into the contest as the team leader in scoring. Marquette freshman point guard Cordell Henry finished with no points, two assists, and five turnovers in 16 minutes as Edwin Young, David Morris, Cain Doliboa, and Tony Stanley created a nightmare afternoon for the future Marquette star.

In a move to match Marquette’s size, Oliver Purnell started Stephen Bamigbola in place of walk-on Ted Fitz. Bamigbola finished with four points, three rebounds, and the only dunk of the game. Nate Green grabbed four rebounds late in the game and showed many fans in attendance why he could be a rebounding specialist in the coming years. Green played aggressive, hungry, and possessed in his short time on the court and could find more minutes if he can put out similar efforts in the future.

Overall, Marquette may be in a bit of a down year and the Flyers may have caught the Golden Eagles flatfooted after a long road trip to Hawaii a week earlier. In that trip, Marquette split a pair of games that included a three point loss to #13 Oklahoma State.

Dayton has a week to prepare for a road game in Evanston, Ill., against Northwestern in the return game of a two-game series that began last season with a Flyer victory. The Flyers must contain All-American nominee Evan Eschmeyer and keep the Wildcats from penetrating into the lane for easy baskets and fouls. The Flyers are the better team but NU Head Coach Kevin O’Neill is one of the best skippers in the country and will have his team prepared and ready. If UD has any chance of earning an NCAA bid in March, Dayton must win this game. There are no compromises.