Jan. 31, 2007
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DAYTON, Ohio - A late second-half surge and a career-high 21 points from junior Andres Sandoval propelled homestanding Dayton past George Washington on Wednesday, 84-69. Junior Brian Roberts led all scorers with 23 points as Dayton improved to 13-0 on its home floor this season.
UD (14-7, 4-4) ended the game on a 19-4 run over the final 4:07 to break a 65-65 tie. Sandoval, who shot 6-of-9 from the field, scored 10 of Dayton's final 16 points. He also recorded six rebounds and six assists, while shooting 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
The Flyers finished 28-of-50 (.560) from the floor after opening 9-of-12. UD cashed in on 10-of-16 three-point tries, led by Roberts who connected on all four of his attempts. Senior Monty Scott and sophomore Charles Little each added 10 points as UD matched its win total from all of last season (14).
Dayton's win snapped George Washington's five-game win streak. The Colonials (15-5, 6-2) were led by junior Maureece Rice with 19 points.
Junior Jimmy Binnie put the Flyers on the board first with a three-pointer on UD's opening possession. Dayton stretched its lead to 8-2 to begin the game, capped off by Andres Sandoval's three-pointer from the top of the key with 16:30 left in the half.
The Flyers answered a 7-2 George Washington run by piecing together an 8-0 outburst of their own. Roberts scored six of the eight points during the run, as UD extended its lead to 18-11 with 11:45 remaining.
George Washington's Rob Diggs kept the contest close with 12 first-half points. He opened 6-of-8 from the field, and scored six of the Colonials next eight points over the next 3:00.
However, Dayton continued its first half three-point barrage. Freshman Marcus Johnson poured in a trey from the corner with 7:00 to play to put the Flyers up 29-20. Dayton shot 7-of-9 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Johnson provided a first-half spark off the bench for the Flyers by scoring seven consecutive Dayton points over a 1:04 span. With 5:55 to play, UD led 33-22.
The Colonials fought back with an 11-1 run to pull within two with 2:02 remaining. A three-pointer from Roberts and a free throw by Sandoval put the Flyers up by five, but Cheyenne Moore's trey at the buzzer cut UD's halftime lead to 38-36.
George Washington took its first lead of the evening on its first possession of the second half. Carl Elliott's three-pointer put the Colonials up 39-38.
Dayton soon regained a one-point lead on the shoulders of Roberts, who scored UD's next five points. Roberts then tossed an alley-oop pass to Little, whose emphatic slam energized the crowd of 11,622 fans and put Dayton up 47-45 with 14:38 left to play.
The teams continued to trade baskets over the next 7:00, as neither squad could open up a lead greater than three points. A Johnson layup with 7:40 on the clock tied the game, 60-60.
The Flyers retook the lead, 63-60 at the 6:14 mark as Roberts buried a pull-up trey. The Colonials came back to tie the game at 65-65, but a Little follow-up dunk and a Sandoval fast-break layup forced George Washington to call timeout with 3:53 remaining, and trailing 69-65.
Dayton continued its solid play down the stretch. George Washington was held scoreless for more than 3:00 as UD built a six point lead. Then with 1:31 left, GW head coach Karl Hobbs was assessed two technical fouls. Roberts sank all four foul shot attempts to give UD a 77-67 lead. The Flyers followed by icing the game at the free throw line for the 84-69 victory.
Dayton is back in action on Sunday at noon in Philadelphia, Pa. against Saint Joseph's. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio in the Dayton area and can be followed with live audio and Gametracker at www.DaytonFlyers.com.
