Nov. 1, 2007
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DAYTON, Ohio - Brian Roberts started the Flyers off on the right foot in 2007-08 by scoring a game-high 25 points in Dayton's defeat of the Findlay Oilers 81-78 on Thursday at UD Arena. The senior tri-captain sank 5-of-8 from the three-point line, and was 7-of-16 from the field in the team's first of two exhibition games this preseason. However, it was freshman Chris Wright who ignited the crowd of close to 8,000 as he scored 20 and sparked a late second half comeback.
With 5:48 left in the game, Wright threw down a London Warren alley-oop pass to tie the game at 70-70. The Flyers had been trailing for almost ten minutes, and fell behind by as many as seven points. On Dayton's next possession, Wright shined again with his second three-pointer of the game to push Dayton toward victory.
UD did much of its damage at the foul line throughout the night. The Flyers converted on 23-of-31 from the foul stripe, and held the Oilers to only nine free throw attempts.
Findlay had four scorers in double-figures, led by junior Josh Bostic's 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
The Flyers opened up the game on a 13-0 run. Roberts had two three-pointers and Binnie added another in the first three minutes of the game.
Findlay head coach Ron Niekamp called a timeout at 17:26 and the Oilers responded with their own 12-3 run. Findlay tied the game at 18 with a three-pointer from Tyler Niekamp with 13:04 left on the clock. Dayton then responded with 10 unanswered points.
The Flyers were able to maintain the strong lead for the remainder of the first half. Findlay relied on the three-pointer early in the game, converting 6-of-14 that they took in the first half.
However, they were also in foul trouble early. Starters John Bostic, Jason Wehri and Marcus Parker had three fouls apiece by the end of the first half, sending Dayton to the free throw line 21 times. The Flyers entered the locker room with a 45-35 lead.
Findlay came out of the break hot, and outscored Dayton 19-8 to open the second half. The Oilers took their first lead of the game off of a three-pointer from junior Tyler Evans with 14:28 on the clock. They were able to extend their lead to seven with 7:04 left in the game.
The Flyers struck back with an 8-0 run which was capped off by Wright's alley-oop dunk from Warren. The teams exchanged baskets and leads until a controversial call with 12.4 seconds remaining in the game. The official called a foul on Findlay's Evans which set off the Findlay bench resulting in a technical foul. Roberts sank his two shots giving the lead back to Dayton, 79-78. Huelsman then went to the line for his free throws and converted 1-of-2 shots.
Wright got the rebound on the miss and drew another foul. He made one of his two shots pushing the Flyer lead to three. Dayton was able to hold on for the 81-78 victory.
The Flyers next exhibition game will be Monday, November 5, at 7 p.m. at UD Arena against California (PA).
