The Dayton Flyer basketball season will continue as UD fought back from an 8pt second half deficit to beat the Richmond Spiders 71-56 in front of a small but vocal crowd of 9,113 fans at the UD Arena. In a contest that was much closer than the final score, Dayton moves on to the Tivo NIT Quarterfinals on Wednesday night as Dayton hosts former MCC foe Detroit in one of the best matchups of the entire season. The Flyer record now improves to 21-12 on the year.

Monday night’s matchup with Richmond — a program that will join the Atlantic-10 next season — was one of the most intriguing of the year as the Spiders sported a gaudy 22-6 record and completely dismantled a talented West Virginia squad by more than three touchdowns just a couple days earlier. Not only was Richmond full of senior-laden talent, many felt the Spiders were the last team to get punted from the NCAA at-large board on Selection Sunday. With an RPI of 43 — compared to Dayton’s 72 — the Spiders were not only tough on paper but also winners in 11 of their last 12 contests. With wins over A-10 foes GW, UMass, and a road win at Mississippi State, the Flyers couldn’t afford to coast.

Thankfully, Dayton got off to a good start to open the game. Ironically, it was Dayton’s defense early on that set the tone. A liability all year, the defense extended out beyond the three-point line and forced the perimeter-shooting Spiders to put the ball on the floor and settle for mid-range two-point jumpers, something they were not as comfortable executing. The Flyers added tight marking to the defensive extension and before long Dayton forced a couple bad passes that turned into breakaway points on the other end — including an exciting Yuanta Holland slam dunk. The Flyers built a 10pt lead but every time Dayton seemed to get the “Mo” going, Richmond answered and answered in a hurry. The Spiders sliced every Flyer lead in half in just seconds with strong shooting and offensive rebounding. At the half, Dayton held on to a 30-27 advantage.

The first five minutes of the second half were critical and Tony Stanley’s trey off the curl to start the final 20 minutes put Dayton ahead 33-27 and on the right track. It wasn’t long however until the Dayton defense — the same defense that sparked everything in the first 15 minutes of the game — came apart and stopped challenging shots, fighting for loose balls, and marking players within sniffing distance. Richmond made the Flyers pay and took an 8pt lead with 13 minutes to go. Dayton needed a fix before the game got out of hand.

Fortunately, Tony Stanley went on a seven point run of his own. With five points coming from a breakaway layup and a trey, and Ramod Marshall adding a trey that brought rain to the UD Arena, the Flyers tied things up at 48 apiece and finally seized control of the game. The crowd was going bonkers and the Flyers fed off the energy from there on.

Brooks Hall and others put the ball on the floor and settled for open mid-range jumpers — something lacking from the backcourt all season — to help Dayton’s chances late in the contest. The Flyers stretched the lead to 59-52 and Richmond couldn’t make enough shots down the stretch to rally from behind. Dayton’s defense in the final five minutes was a big reason however as UD challenged shots and fed off a deafening crowd that was on its feet. The Flyers also grabbed several important rebounds in the final four minutes to salt the game away. The final score was the largest margin of the night and a poor indicator of the game itself.

Stanley led Flyer scorers with 17pts, while Brooks Hall added 14 and Ramod Marshall 12. Keith Waleskowski chipped in eight points and 11 boards. The Flyers committed just seven turnovers on the night and only two in the second half. On defense, Richmond shot just 5-20 from behind the arc.

Monday’s win was one of the best victories of the season, despite the small crowd and apparent low interest compared to the regular season games. The Spiders were a serious test and were the game on their home court — The venerable Robins Center — the Flyer season would probably be over. The NIT Committee apparently seemed satisfied with the fan turnout in the Gem City however as UD will once again host a game, this time against an excellent Detroit squad featuring Rashad Philips, one of the top three or four point guards in the entire country. As good as Detroit is and can be however, UD should be expected to win at home, whether it’s against Detroit or the LA Lakers. The road to the Big Apple doesn’t get much friendlier than this, and Dayton must not waste a chance to establish some major “Mo” for a promising 2001-02 team, not to mention some hardware waiting for two teams in Madison Square Garden next week.