First things first. Keith Waleskowski’s halfcourt pass to Yuanta Holland for a driving lay-up from the midcourt line with five-tenths of a second left in the game was a thrilling moment destined for the video archives of many Flyer fans. Take away the last-second buzz of Dayton heroics however and the Flyers gave the Marquette Golden Eagles a golden opportunity to steal one at the UD Arena in a fashion eerily familiar to the contest against Cincinnati. While the Flyers improved to 8-4 and survived a dangerous opponent, UD bogged down once again in the final 10 minutes and suffered a late-game meltdown before a home crowd of over 13,200.

Marquette will make you look bad however and that’s exactly what Tom Crean’s club did for most of the contest. The Flyers and Golden Eagles played ugly basketball for the first 20 minutes as both defenses took apart the offenses. Despite the edgy play, Dayton managed to sink a couple treys and convert on a pair of steals to open up a nine-point advantage in the first half. Marquette closed the lead to three but a Ramod Marshall steal and lay-up combined with a pair of Keith Waleskowski free throws helped Dayton stretch things to a 31-23 halftime lead.

The Flyers made all the right moves in the first two minutes of the second half, getting baskets and opening the UD lead to 14pts — the biggest of the game — but Marquette scored three points on three different offensive possessions in the first 5:30 of the second half to close in on the Flyers despite Dayton’s success on the offensive end. Soon thereafter, the Flyer offense stagnated and the Golden Eagles continued to score — including several more possessions of the three-point variety as Brian Wardle got hot and stayed hot for the rest of the game.

While Marquette was getting it done on the offensive end, their defense got a rest as the Dayton offense put on their asphalt sneakers and played not to lose. There was no movement, no cuts to the basket, no dribble penetration, but there was a lot of standing around and for nearly eight minutes it appeared Head Coach Oliver Purnell stole Don Donoher’s playbook and unveiled the famous ‘Bama’ offense.

Dayton trailed Marquette by two points with 1:30 left in the contest when David Morris cashed in on a huge trey from the left side to give Dayton a one-point advantage. The Flyers held a 59-58 lead and tried to put a cork in Marquette’s offense as the Golden Eagles inbounded the ball with 12 seconds left in the game. Marquette went the length of the court and found Brian Wardle for a leaning 10 footer from the right baseline with 4.5 seconds remaining. Wardle, who scored 25 points, figured to be a marked man, but Dayton let the one player who could make the big shot slip away and seemingly win the game.

Many fans grabbed their coats and headed for the exits, but the Flyers stole a play from Valparaiso when the Crusaders went the length of the court for a Bryce Drew trey at the buzzer for an NCAA Tournament victory a few seasons ago. Keith Waleskowski inbounded the ball for a streaking Yuanta Holland who was approaching the center circle. Tony Stanley and Brooks Hall flashed to the sides for the give-and-go, but neither of them were open and Holland took the ball to the paint with single man coverage. As Holland reached the foul line, the Marquette defender backed off to avoid a foul and a remaining Golden Eagle player behind the basket never challenged as Holland touched it off the glass for the easy lay-up and game winner with five-tenths of a second left in the game. Marquette found Brian Wardle’s hands on a 70-foot pass, but his shot missed wide — albeit not by much — to avoid the ultimate heartbreak finish.

Keith Waleskowski led all Flyers scorers with 13 points, while Yuanta Holland added 11. Tony Stanley made just 1-10 field goals and finished with only 4pts.

Though the Flyers carved out the victory, the stretch runs for the Flyers continue to plague the team inside the otherwise friendly confines of the UD Arena. Almost a carbon copy of the Cincinnati loss, the Flyers stopped playing to win and started playing not to lose in the final 10 minutes of the ballgame. The offense never got started until 15 seconds left on the shot clock and when it did, nothing took place other than one-on-one creativity from the point guards beyond the top of the key. Clearly, the Flyers are relaxing when they build a comfortable lead at home and unless the red and blue play every minute like the first, Cincinnati and Old Dominion will not be the only teams to make a late run and leave Dayton with all smiles.

Dayton opens the New Year with a contest against an equally-dangerous Siena club. The Saints like to run-and-gun, the first team on the schedule that fits this mold since the Arizona Wildcats in the Maui Invitational. The change in style might do the Flyers some good. If they get their legs moving and become acclimated to running up and down the court at-will, it just might be the perfect recipe to exorcise the demons of playing at home this year. Saturday night’s thrilling victory over Marquette should help the cause as well.