March 9, 2005
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory
"I'm pleased with our guys' effort. I've talked to our guys about getting back to the basics on defense and defensive intensity. And we did a good job on the glass. We talked about our energy level on the glass."
On Trent Meacham's injury: "His foot's a little sore, on the top of his foot. But he went in there and played extremely well. Brian [Roberts] did a great job in there filling in at the point."
"On defending Ahmad Smith: "We did a good job of changing people on him. We just wanted him to have to work for everything. We didn't want to give him anything easy. He's a great player. I love how hard he plays all the time, no matter what the score is, no matter what their record is."
On the Flyers' fast start: "We really harped on that the last couple of days, about starting out fast. I've said that the team that plays the best defense for four days and rebounds the best will win the tournament."
"That was our 18th win. We ended up 17-10 and 10-6 in the league, one game out of first place. Our team is playing pretty well, if you take away the first five minutes of the Xavier game. I really like this team. Our guys proved it to me in the last few days in practice. I know that our guys want to play tomorrow."
On Temple: "We definitely have to play better than we did down there [at Temple]. We started off 22 to 4 [behind]. They're a very, very good team."
Brian Roberts
"We just wanted to come out in the first game and set the tone for the tournament."
Mark Jones
"We've got a great freshman class and everybody works really hard. I think it's been great and I've really enjoyed it. I told them [before the game] that we had to get off to a better start."
St. Bonaventure Head Coach Anthony Solomon
"I don't want our performance tonight to diminish what our guys have done this year. It's tournament time now. There's a certain level of intensity and passion that comes in March and certainly Dayton showed it tonight."
"I thought we were competing tonight. We needed some success early in the basketball game, particularly offensively. Certainly, our hats are off to Dayton because they had a lot to do with our lack of success. I thought the best basketball team won."
On the three departing seniors, Yankuba Camara, Saulius Dumbliauskas, and Greg Lewis: "Those three men, in their own ways, had a special impact on our basketball team both this year and last year. Those three set the example for the foundation of the program. In no way am I disappointed in our men's effort. They were able to keep a great attitude both with those outside the program and with each other."
"Our freshmen did not have a chance to be freshmen because of where our program is. I just want to make sure that these experiences are used as learning experiences as they continue on with their careers."
Ahmad Smith
"I wish we could have sent our seniors out on a better note. They [Dayton] were helping out a lot [on defense]. I could not get into the flow. I just did not play well."
