In a battle of division leaders, the University of Dayton Flyers amassed a 35-29 rebounding advantage over the Temple Owls. The Flyers shot 46% on three point attempts. But at the conclusion of the game, the Owls owned the most important stat: A 64-58 edge on the scoreboard.

The game was a tight, defensive struggle from the outset, featuring numerous mini-runs by both teams. Neither team held more than a six-point lead in the first half. Temple did most of their damage inside the three point line, while Dayton was hot from outside the arc. In the first half, the Flyers made just 1 of 10 two-point shots — a jumper by Mark Ashman before the first media timeout, but were 6 of 12 from three point range. Temple was 10 of 18 from the interior, but just 2 of 10 outside the arc.

The Flyers led 22-19 after a Tony Stanley steal resulted in a Mark Karcher intentional foul on the breakaway. Shortly thereafter, Pepe Sanchez and Lamont Barnes took seats on the Temple bench with their second fouls and it looked like the Flyers might be in business. But Keaton Sanders provided an offensive spark for the Owls, and their always-tenacious defense held Dayton to a David Morris trey in the last five minutes of the half. When the buzzer sounded, the Owls held a 29-25 advantage. Tony Stanley led the Flyers with 10 points while David Morris chipped in nine.

The second half opened with a Dayton turnover and Temple conversion. But the Flyers made some offensive changes at the half, with Mark Ashman setting screens for Brooks Hall on the back side of the Temple zone. Brooks knocked down three quick threes, often following a dish from Tony Stanley’s dribble penetration. From there the teams traded the lead until Temple opened a 51-44 advantage with 8 minutes to play. The Flyers held Temple scoreless over the next several minutes, but could never take the lead.

Quincy Wadley ended the scoring drought, draining a trey as the Flyers lost him in a defensive switch to put Temple up 54-50. Hall missed an open 3 on the Flyers next possession and Wadley made the Flyers pay. With just under three minutes remaining, the Owls set a double screen as Wadley broke free on the left wing, nailed the three, and drew a foul from Hall. Just that quickly the Flyers were down eight. They got no closer than four points the rest of the way. Hall missed an open trey with 20 seconds left that would have cut the lead to 62-61, and Wadley converted two free throws to close the scoring. David Morris missed two desperation threes (the first probably ill-advised with the Flyers down four and 13 seconds left) to drop the three-point shooting to 42% for the game. Tony Stanley led the Flyers in scoring with 19, adding 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Brooks Hall added 15 points and David Morris 11.

Going into the game, the keys to a Flyer victory were:

Keep the Owls off of the offensive glass. Mission mostly accomplished. While Temple hurt the Flyers with several key stickbacks, the Flyers held a 35-29 rebounding advantage, and gave up 11 offensive rebounds while garnering 10 themselves.

Make the Owls work the ball on the perimeter and keep the ball out of the low blocks. Again the Flyers accomplished their task, however Temple converted 40% of their three point attempts, including 6 of 10 in the second half.

Penetrate the Owl zone. The Flyers were inconsistent in creating dribble penetration against the zone. At times, the Owls forced the Flyer offense too far from the basket and kept the ball from getting inside the zone. But Tony Stanley and David Morris at times created open looks from the three-point line by penetrating the zone.

Find an inside scoring threat. This the Flyers did not do. Mark Ashman had six points, Yuanta Holland six, and Nate Green one. But that was as much design as it was ineffectiveness. When the ball got inside the zone, Hall, Stanley, and Morris frequently popped wide open at the three-point line and the Flyers took those good looks. Ashman was three of six from the field and Holland three of four.

Get some cheap transition baskets, and limit the Owls’ scoring off turnovers. This did not happen. The Flyers got nothing in transition, while the Owls got 10 to 12 points off of turnovers.

Stay hot from the outside. The Flyers shot the ball well from the perimeter, and got many good looks. But they missed the big buckets at the end while the Owls converted.

All in all, the Flyers did enough things right to defeat most teams in the country. They may have even played well enough to beat Temple if the Owls have one of their off-shooting nights. But on this night a solid effort was not good enough for a W.

Dayton takes a rare February weekend off, and will try to show the NCAA Selection Committee their worthiness by bouncing back with a road win at LaSalle next week. The Flyers probably need to win three of their last four to nail down their first bid to the tourney in ten years.