For this sportswriter, the game has finally arrived. On Wednesday evening, the Miami (OH) RedHawks bus over from Oxford and try to make it a decade sweep of the Dayton Flyers. While Miami Vice went off the air in the 1980s, it continues today in the form of perennial spankings at the hands of our closest rival. Not only has Miami whipped Dayton every time in the 1990s (nine times in all), most of the contests have been so ugly and painful that a series once decidedly in favor of the Flyers is now in jeopardy of being tied up at 59 wins apiece.

From Joby Wright, to Herb Sendek, to Charlie Coles, from the Redskins to the RedHawks, Miami University knows how to beat the Flyers. Miami simply bombs Dayton from three-point range, plays tough man-to-man defense, forces a few turnovers, and makes free throws down the stretch. Names like Landon Hackim, Devin Davis, Derrick Cross, Jamie Mahaffey, Dave Scott, Craig Michealis, Wally Szczerbiak, and Damon Frierson have abused the Flyers like a ragdoll. In the few games that were competitive, Miami waited until the very end to pull out the dramatics – including two wins in double-overtime and several career-making performances.A quick look at the series in the 1990s…Dec. 6, 1990 – MU 101 UD 77. Dayton entered the game 3-0 and in the Top-15 of the Dunkel Index.

Dec. 12, 1991 – MU 59 UD 47. Dayton blows a 9pt halftime lead and Chip Jones is under suspension.
Dec. 9, 1992 – MU 57 UD 50. Loss to Alaska-Anchorage a few days earlier was a bad sign.
Dec. 30, 1993 – MU 99 UD 93 2OT. Derrick Cross lights UD up for 32 points.
Dec. 5, 1994 – MU 81 UD 72. Flyers suffer 19th straight road loss in front of non-existent Miami crowd.
Dec. 30, 1995 – MU 79 UD 56. Five-game winning streak snapped.
Dec. 4, 1996 – MU 92 UD 72. Miami calls off dogs at 63-30. Could have been much worse.
Nov. 22, 1997 – MU 93 UD 86 2OT. Flyers blow 10pt lead late in game. Wally dumps 41 in career game.
Nov. 22, 1998 – MU 76 UD 62. Flyers lead at half, but a total meltdown makes this one a laugher.

In all, Miami (OH) has won by an average margin of 14 points and limited the Flyers to just 68ppg during this stretch. How on earth can a school in a small rural town with a deplorable fan base and less-than-average facilities stampede the University of Dayton? Rather than give all the credit to Miami, UD simply tailed off and refused to exorcise a few bad apples in the program. It’s a new year however and the Flyers have another chance to make amends, but don’t get any lofty ideas just because Szczerbiak, Frierson, and Estick are no longer around. The RedHawks are every bit as good as the Flyers and have more than enough talent to pin a 20pt loss on the Arena crowd. Running the show for Charlie Coles is a familiar face to most Flyer fans. Rob Mestas, a 5-11, senior, went under the knife for the fourth time in the offseason to fix a set of knees that have been troublesome his entire career. He appears healthy – and when he is – is one of the best ball-handling guards in Ohio – better than Penn and Redd. While Mestas doesn’t have an offensive game that compares with any superstar, his assist-to-turnover ratio is what sets him apart from the run-of-the-mill floor leaders. This year’s 2.42:1 ratio is among the best the Flyers will see all year. Mestas averages 7.4ppg, 4rpg, and 6.6apg, the latter being good enough for 16th in the country. He also leads the team in steals (17) and minutes played (276).

At shooting guard is Anthony Taylor, 6-1, a senior who continues to impress coaches in the MAC and beyond with his cleverness and ability to make the big play. As a sophomore, Taylor averaged 12.4ppg and 2.9rpg as a starter for Miami – filling in for Mestas who took a year off to rehabilitate the knees. Last season, Mestas returned and Taylor was pushed to the bench much like his freshman year, and his numbers dipped to 3.9ppg and 2rpg. In 1999-00, the departures of Szczerbiak and Frierson opened the door for him once again, and this time he’s netting a team-high 20.1ppg to go along with 3.6rpg. Taylor has a nice stroke from behind the arc, connecting on 14-35 (.400%) on the season. He’s also made 43 of 50 FTs.

Taylor is the consummate 2-guard in the Miami program who does nothing exceptional but everything solid. The Miami program has been built on players like these. On the wing is Jason Grunkemeyer, a 6-6, transfer from Ohio University who poses the biggest outside threat on the team. Grunkemeyer is third on the team in scoring (9.1ppg) and is currently fifth in the nation in 3-PT FG accuracy at .607% (17-28). Grunkemeyer is much like Dayton’s Cain Doliboa, a lanky forward with a quick release and propensity for making big shots. Unlike Doliboa however, Grunkemeyer isn’t so trigger-happy and likes to work inside the paint, but his numbers inside the arc (5-17 for .294%) clearly indicate that he’s much more effective when busting zones.

At power forward is 6-8, 230lb, Refiloe Lethunya, a senior averaging 8.1ppg and 6rpg. Lethunya won’t win any contests for flare and style, but he possesses the blue-collar mentality that Charlie Coles likes to see on the floor. Lethunya is decent from the field, decent from the line, a decent low-post defender, and fairly effective down low on the offensive end. He’ll never be superstar and won’t go down as a Miami Hall of Famer, but he plays better than others rated higher than him.

In the middle is 6-10, 257lb, Rich Allendorf, a senior who gets the nominal starting nod but gives way to the other, more talented players once the game gets heated up. Allendorf’s numbers are 3.3ppg and 3rpg. He’s big and takes up a lot of space, but is less polished than guys like Mark Ashman who move without the ball and possess the medium-range jumpshot. Allendorf only sees 15 minutes a game. One knock against Miami (OH) is their depth. Their rotation consists of just seven players while the rest of the team fills in on an as-needed basis.

First off the pine is senior Jason Stewart, a 6-5 wing player averaging 11.9ppg and 2.9rpg. Unlike Taylor and Grunkemeyer, Stewart doesn’t have the great jumpshot to compliment his game, but he does have a knack for scoring like a lot of other players in basketball who aren’t shy about pulling the trigger. The Atlanta, GA, native is similar in size and build and former Flyer Rodney Horton, and tends to be as consistent.

The last major contributor coming off the bench is Mike Ensminger, a 6-6, 250lb, mound of energy who has created nothing but trouble for Flyer teams of late. The junior from Cincinnati averages 3.6ppg and 5.4rpg, but Ensminger’s glory is being the fan favorite of RedHawk followers. He is blue-collar and unpolished, but gets more done than many players who spend Sunday afternoons reading their own press clippings. Three weeks ago, the Flyers had several advantages over Miami (OH). One of special importance was depth, but now that Cain Doliboa may be out for a couple months and Stephen Bamigbola is under suspension, Dayton’s depth chart isn’t much better going into Wednesday’s game. Flyer fans should not forget three other absences from this year’s team – Andy Metzler, Nucleus Smith, and Keith Waleskowski. Any of these three players might have been available this year were it not for burnout, grades, and a redshirt. All told, that’s five players missing from Dayton’s roster.

The Flyers have dropped two of their last three games after an 8-0 start. In both losses, Dayton played flat and never looked like they wanted to do the things necessary to win the ballgame. Cleveland State outhustled the Flyers for a 75-60 win, while St. Louis took advantage of senseless Flyer mistakes for a win at the Arena last week. Purnell’s club must iron out the mental lapses and inject some energy into Wednesday’s rivalry or it will be 0-10 in the 1990s against the RedHawks. The matchup is very even. Mestas is equal to or better than Edwin Young and David Morris. Grunkemeyer and Brooks Hall could swap jerseys. Lethunya/Ensminger and Green/Holland are fairly even. Tony Stanley and Anthony Taylor are closer than some might think. Only Mark Ashman may have a distinct advantage over Rich Allendorf, but even so, Allendorf doesn’t log heavy minutes and Ashman’s best basketball was three weeks ago.

The annual game with Miami (OH) has become the biggest game on the schedule. Dayton knows how to beat Xavier, but the Flyers get only one chance a year to beat the boys from Oxford. Unlike the Xavier series where Dayton has always maintained a comfortable edge in the series, Miami and Dayton have been much closer, much more competitive, and much more personal. After nine straight defeats – the longest in the series by either side – there is no better game, or time, to bring in the Millennium and repair some old wounds.