The University of Dayton Flyers gave the Flyer Faithful across the country what they were looking for: a shot to win game #20 in the home finale against Rhode Island. Wednesday night, the Flyers held off the LaSalle Explorers 71-64 in Philadelphia. Keyed by a monstrous run in the second half and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, the Flyers strengthened their grip on the Atlantic 10 West, improving to 19-6 overall and 9-4 in the conference. Dayton now owns a full two-game lead over Xavier and George Washington with three games to play. LaSalle fell to 10-14 overall, and 4-9 in the West.

The Flyers came out of the gate strong, building a 9-0 lead early in the game. The key was defensive rebounding, as LaSalle was not able to get any second shots. However, UD’s offense went stagnant and allowed the Explorers to get back in the game with a 7-0 run of their own. The next six minutes saw both offenses go south and the Explorers’ field goal percentage nosedived to 14% (3-21 FG). Dayton was not much better at 5 for 18. Dayton extended their lead to nine on a couple of occasions, but wasn’t able to make it hold up, and took a 28-25 lead into halftime. The first half of this game should never be used in any “How to Shoot” videos. The Flyers, while only turning the ball over twice, shot only 10-34 from the floor….slightly better than LaSalle’s 10-38. In fact, LaSalle’s leading scorer, Rasual Butler (15pts, 5-17 FG), only had 2 points in the first half – and did not score those until about four minutes left in the half.

Tony Stanley (12pts, 6 rbs) led Dayton in the first half with six points. The second half began auspiciously for Dayton as the Flyers turned the ball over on two of their first four possessions, allowing LaSalle to get within one point on a couple of occasions. Edwin Young (13pts, 5ast), who led the Flyers with 15 points on five three-pointers in the first UD-LaSalle matchup, hit his second three in as many attempts. However, the Flyers could not continue to capitalize. Finally, with 14:51 to play in the game, the Explorers took their first lead as David Morris (5pts, 3rbs) fouled Donnie Carr (22pts, 6-18 FG) on a lay-up.

Falling behind 39-35 and looking ragged, the Flyers broke through with a 15-1 run to take a 50-40 lead, capped by two Brooks Hall (15pts, 8rbs) three-pointers. Two free throws by Victor Thomas (16pts, 13rbs) stemmed the tide. The second leading rebounder in the conference, Thomas had 10 boards in the first half alone.
Going under the eight-minute media timeout, Dayton had nine team fouls, sending LaSalle to the line for two free throws for the rest of the contest. Carr immediately capitalized with two shots. Mark Ashman (8pts, 4rbs) responded on the other end with two free throws of his own. Ashman scored the first points of the game, but was taken out of the game by a combination of LaSalle’s defense, a slight bout of the flu, and Dayton’s reluctance to get him involved. LaSalle whittled Dayton’s lead down to three on two consecutive three-pointers with two minutes to play. But the Flyers interior of Ashman and Yuanta Holland (11pts – nine in the second half) bailed the Flyers out on back-to-back possessions. The result was a precious five-point lead and the ball with about 1:40 to play. With the shot clock running down, Morris traveled, giving LaSalle the ball with 1:16 to go. Carr fired an airball, but the rebound went off Ashman and out of bounds. Another offensive rebound gave LaSalle a second chance at a three ball, but it came up short. Donnie Carr was forced to foul Young, who made both shots. Young fouled Carr on the other end with :32 to play. Carr made both, cutting the lead to 65-60.

A seemingly never-ending parade to the foul line followed. Only about 50% from the line as a team in the first half, UD came through in the final minute. First, it was Brooks Hall: good on both. Butler countered with a quick three-pointer. Then it was Edwin Young: also good on both. Young then did the unthinkable – fouling LaSalle’s best foul shooter, Donnie Carr. Carr made one of two. Butler quickly fouled Stanley: good on both as well to finish the scoring. General notes – The player of the game award was given to Yuanta Holland for his nine second-half points and pivotal play down the stretch. Brooks Hall’s second three-pointer to cap UD’s big run was the play of the game….

Dayton finishes the regular season 3-1 against teams from Philadelphia, beating LaSalle twice, St. Joe’s once, and losing to Temple….

Seniors Mark Ashman, Edwin Young, Matt Cooper, and Ted Fitz will be honored in their final regular season game at UD Arena….Rumor has it UD will come out for the URI game in old-school uniforms. Rumor or fact?….In addition to the traditional Senior Night festivities, the 30th Anniversary All-Arena team will be introduced.