Dayton Flyers

Nov. 5, 2007

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DAYTON, Ohio - Team play was key as the University of Dayton Flyers tallied a 62-49 victory over California of Pennsylvania in exhibition action on Monday at UD Arena.

As promised in his post-game interview following Thursday's exhibition game with Findlay , UD coach Brian Gregory took advantage of the deep Flyer bench. All 15 uniformed players saw playing time, eleven of those players seeing at least 12 minutes. Sophomore Marcus Johnson led all Dayton scorers with 10 points.

UD completed just 13-of-29 field goals in the first half and 21-of-49 in the game. However the Vulcans only completed 9-of-25 shots in the first half, and 20-of-55 in the game, keeping the score low and close early on.

Freshman Steven Thomas showed poise and control manning the point position for 20 minutes of the game. Thomas was 3-of-6 from the floor, including a three pointer, and was tied for Dayton's second leading scorer with eight points.

The Flyers came out shooting as 12 of their first 14 points came from beyond the arc. Jimmy Binnie, Marcus Johnson, Brian Roberts, and Andres Sandoval each had a three-pointer before an extended shooting drought.

With 5:06 in the half, Charles Little recovered a rebound, threw down the dunk and drew the foul. He made the shot to give Dayton a 25-16 lead, its largest lead of the half.

Before the end of the first half, Vulcan Jesse Brooks nailed a three-pointer with 31 seconds on the clock pulling his team within five. But Little responded with one of his four offensive rebounds of the game, and dunked the ball in the half's final second sending the Flyers into the locker room with a 31-24 halftime lead.

The two teams traded blows to open the second half before Dayton opened up an 8-0 run. London Warren capped off the run completing two free throw shots with 15:05 on the clock to give the Flyers a 40-28 lead, and they never looked back.

Free throws were the difference in the second half. California's 16 second half fouls resulted in the Flyers 13-of-20 from the line. The Vulcan's went to the line just once, making one of their two shots.

Dayton will look to build on its pre-season success as the Flyers open their regular season against East Tennessee St. this Saturday, 2 p.m. at UD Arena.