It was the Tony Stanley Show Wednesday night as the Flyer sophomore pumped in 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists, and no turnovers as the Flyers rebounded from a tough loss to UC with a 70-59 win over the DePaul Blue Demons. In a game that showcased Stanley and DePaul’s freshman phenom Quentin Richardson, Tony took top honors. While Richardson finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds, his defense and intangibles simply did not measure up. Dayton evens its record at 5-5 while DePaul drops to 6-5. The Flyers host Fordham in the A-10 opener on Saturday.

Although Stanley’s offensive game put points on the scoreboard, it was his defensive effort that impressed all 11,641 in attendance. Hawking the ball like a divebird sights a field mouse, Stanley completely shut down his defensive area when Oliver Purnell elected to play a 2-3 zone. Edwin Young added a stellar defensive game of his own by teaming up with Stanley on the top of the zone to disrupt the Blue Demon offensive set.

Mark Ashman mixed things up inside the paint for the Flyers, chipping in 13 points and 5 rebounds in 31 minutes. Cain Doliboa, starting once again in place of an injured Coby Turner, scored 11 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Turner, still hampered by a hip pointer and a tender abdomen, scored 5 points in 20 minutes of action.
Andy Metzler gave UD a big lift off the bench with 7 points and 7 rebounds in just 16 minutes and Edwin Young added 9 points, 6 assists, and only 1 turnover.

In what can only be described as an ugly game, Dayton allowed DePaul to open the first half with a pair of uncontested baskets but it wasn’t long until the Flyers dialed in from long distance as Cain Doliboa, Coby Turner, and Edwin Young nailed treys to give Dayton its first lead. The Flyers did very little inside the paint for the entire first half but managed to maintain a slim lead with excellent 3-PT shooting — UD made 7 of 16 attempts. Mark Ashman collected only a handful of offensive touches in the first half and got into foul trouble as the half came to a close. Matt Cooper came off the bench and held his own against more talented opponents to keep the Flyers in control. UD took a 35-28 lead into the locker room.

The second half started like so many other second halves for the Flyers as DePaul chipped away at the deficit to pull within 3 points just minutes into the final frame. Oliver Purnell stopped the bleeding with a timeout and regrouped his team. At this point, Purnell went to a 2-3 zone on the defensive end that proved to be the difference in the game. Dayton’s zone defense became the strength of the team and eventually dominated DePaul’s offensive set.

With the Flyer lead trimmed to 55-52, the Blue Demons missed a trey to tie the game and Dayton converted a tough basket on the other end to slowly wrestle the game away. Purnell forced the ball into Mark Ashman late in the game for timely baskets and free throws to keep the Flyers scoring on nearly every trip down the floor.

With Dayton ahead 65-59 with under two minutes to go, Edwin Young heaved a desperation trey from 25 feet but shot it only 24 feet. Yuanta Holland caught the airball under the basket for an easy hoop as the shot clock expired to ice the game.

DePaul struggled with the Dayton zone all night, shooting only .411% from the floor. The Flyers connected on .444%, including 9-22 treys, but continue to struggle at the free throw line. For the game, UD made only 13 of 21 attempts.

Dayton is playing excellent basketball. Despite losses to strong Louisville and Cincinnati clubs in recent times, UD is playing confident, smart, and poised. Oliver Purnell has assembled his best defensive team since arriving in town five years ago. If UD can sustain the defensive effort and hit a few timely baskets on the offensive end, the Flyers will be a tough team to beat anywhere they play.