At 3:03pm with the tipoff, the University of Dayton Flyers ended their longest stretch of time off with a hard-fought, defensive battle that saw the Flyers take a 62-50 decision from the Virgina Tech Hokies. A quick glance at the score shows a semi-comfortable 12 point win for the Flyers, but in reality, this was not the case. Tied at 41, UD did all the right the things down the stretch – take care of the basketball, and make free throws – to earn the win. By winning their Atlantic 10 Conference opener, UD moved to 11-2 overall, and 1-0 in the conference. The game started well enough for the Flyers as Tony Stanley (12 pts) grabbed a steal, flipped it to Edwin Young (8 pts), who gave it back for a one-handed dunk (probably the quickest Flyer dunk I can remember). Dayton used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to build a 16-9 lead, and indications were that the Flyers were going to put this one away early.

Virginia Tech (6-7, 0-2) however, is athletic enough to hang around talented teams with a defensive style of basketball. With their athleticism, the Hokies blocked nine shots and altered countless others. A Brendan Dunlop (9 pts) free throw pulled Virginia Tech back within one at 18-17 with 6:55 to play in the first half. From there, both teams went cold — in what was the real story of the game. Stanley hit a three to extend UD’s lead to 21-17 with 6:50 to play, and neither team could score again until David Morris (9pts, 5 ast) hit a field goal with 3:55 to play in the first half.

The teams played even for the rest of the half, and UD enjoyed a 29-23 lead at the break. The second half started the same way as the first half ended – teams trading baskets – until an 8-1 VT run, capped by two Rolan Roberts (10 pts, 9 rbd) free throws that tied the game at 41. Then, in the most important sequence of the game, Stanley and Hall made consecutive three-pointers, igniting the crowd, pushing UD’s lead back to six, and forcing VT to call time-out. After a Tech free throw, Yuanta Holland (7 pts, 9 rbd) hit a shot to give Dayton a seven-point lead with three minutes to play – a catalyst that ignited a march to the free throw line, where Dayton was 10-10 in the last 90 seconds. For the game, UD held Virginia Tech to 38% shooting, while the Flyers shot an anemic 32%.

Luckily for Dayton, they converted 81% of their free throws, and 38% of their three-pointers – led by Brooks Hall’s (14 pts, 7 rbd) 4-6 from behind the arc. Additionally, UD did not give the Hokies any freebies, committing only eight turnovers and generally limiting VT’s transition opportunities. General Notes – UD has only about 50 hours off before facing Xavier at the UD Arena on Tuesday at 9:30pm. The game is on ESPN2….When the Hokies were being introduced, and a couple times throughout the game, the UD band imitated the Florida State Seminole War Chant, in reference to Tech’s Sugar Bowl loss to FSU last week. Brooks Hall was noticeably limping at times, apparently with some back problems. Whenever he would leave the game, a trainer would assist in stretching out his back behind the UD bench….Sunday was the last time that UD will face Virginia Tech at home in a conference game. The Hokies,