The best offense has been described as a good defense, but that’s exactly what was missing from the Dayton Flyer arsenal for the second straight game as the Marshall Thundering Herd stole the cookies from the cookie jar at the UD Arena and walked away 67-65 winners. Dayton has lost three of four games and falls below .500 for the first time this season at 2-3. Marshall improves to 4-1.

The Flyer fate was apparent from the opening tip, but things didn’t show their ugly head until the middle of the second half. Until that time, Dayton managed to outscore the Herd for a 33-32 halftime advantage. Like the Cincinnati loss, the Flyers mailed it in on the defensive end and didn’t put forth the tenacious in-your-face effort we saw in three straight contests in the Maui Invitational — even in the 17pt loss to #1 Arizona. Instead, the Flyers swapped baskets for 30 minutes and when it was time to make a move, it was the visiting team that provided all the answers.

Tony Stanley struggled to get on track in the first half, going 0-7 from the field and being held scoreless in the first 20 minutes. But Yuanta Holland, Keith Waleskowski, and Brooks Hall picked up the slack and kept the Flyers a couple of baskets high or low of the Herd in the first half. While Dayton’s offensive set wasn’t pretty, it was doing just enough to win the game as Marshall’s perimeter defense was strong all afternoon and baited the Flyers to take bad shots from the outside instead of dishing it in the post or driving to the basket for fouls and free-throw opportunities. On the other side of the ball, Marshall never looked frustrated on the offensive end and had easy looks at the basket as Dayton played a step off their assignments all game. The Herd got in the paint for several open 8-footers, 5-footers, and 16-foot in-and-out jumpers.

The second half looked promising and Dayton opened a five-point lead, the the contest remained close until the middle of the second half when Marshall opened a five-point lead of their own. With eight or nine minutes remaining, this was Dayton’s last chance to make a move and take control of the game — or risk banking on last-second heroics to steal one in the waning moments.

In short, the Flyers needed defensive stops, but all they did was, at best, trade baskets for the next six minutes. When Dayton scored, the Flyers never held serve on the defensive end. When the Flyers nailed a trey, they gave up an old-fashioned 3-pt play on the other end. On the rare instance Dayton did hold Marshall scoreless, the Flyers couldn’t put it in the hole either on the return trip. Marshall won the game at the eight-minute mark and scored every time they needed to score. By the time the game wound down to under 90 seconds, things were pretty much decided and UD needed those last-second heroics fans were hoping to avoid.

The Flyers needed just two or three defensive stops and offensive conversions to sneak away with a victory, but even that wasn’t happening.

The Herd held on to a 61-53 lead with two minutes to go, but a Ramod Marshall trey, a missed Herd free throw, a Nate Green basket, and a couple other breaks helped the Flyers close things to 67-65 as the Herd inbounded the ball with five ticks left. Yuanta Holland guarded the inbounder and stole the pass. Tony Stanley corralled the ball in the far left corner and tried to launch a game-winning trey, but it was the Herd who came up with the big play yet again — this time blocking the attempt and sealing the victory.

Holland finished with 20pts and 9rbs, while Brooks Hall chipped in 13pts and 7rbs. The Flyers were cold from the outside and took questionable jumpers that hurt their chances. Because Marshall was playing very tight on the perimeter, the Flyers stood a better chance of scoring had they got in the paint and eventually the foul line, but the Flyers shot just seven free throws all night — indicative of a team lacking aggressiveness on the offensive end. Dayton settled for the trey — and died by it. UD also had 16 turnovers (11 in the first half alone), too many for a game in the mid-60s. The Flyers own the worst turnover average in the Atlantic-10 and unless the players take better care of the basketball, Dayton’s rebounding advantage will do nothing more than cover up blemishes rather than accelerate things on the offensive end.

Despite the loss, Dayton is still a very good team, or more specific, a very good team when they get after it on defense. Both home losses however remind fans that this team isn’t good enough to win with a mediocre effort against decent teams. Cincinnati and Marshall were both very beatable. They were solid teams — but nothing that’s going to strike fear into the Arizonas and Dukes of the world. When Dayton finds their defensive tenacity, they will find themselves winning again. Everything starts on the defensive side of the ball. It’s amazing how a great defensive performance always seems to coincide with a strong effort on the offensive end as well. In fact, it’s no coincidence.

Dayton travels to Miami (OH) for their next game, a place where success has been as frequent as snow in the Caymans. Having said that, the Flyers are good enough to win and the RedHawks have been up and down this year. A recent victory over #15 Temple should have Oliver Purnell’s troops focused on Charlie Coles’ squad. After five games, it’s a must-win for the Flyers. Slipping to 2-4 is not an option at this point, especially for a team that should be 5-1.