April 28, 2008

University of Dayton men's basketball coach Brian Gregory has announced that Rob Lowery, a 6-2, 165 pound guard from Cecil College in North East, Maryland, has signed a National Letter of Intent late today. Lowery, a First Team Division II Junior College All-American, will have two seasons of eligibility for UD.

Lowery averaged 18.2 points, 8.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game this year. He shot 48 percent from the field (including 40 percent from three-point range) and 78 percent from the free throw line. Cecil was 31-1 in 2007-08, suffering an upset loss in its final game of the year in the NJCAA national tournament.

"I'm very excited to add Rob to our recruiting class from the fall," Gregory said. "He brings a winner's mentality to our program, which makes him a great fit with the rest of the players on our team. He has the ability to take his man off the dribble and also pull up to hit the jumper. His versatility gives us another explosive athlete on our perimeter."

Lowery was chosen to play in the national junior college all-star game in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 20, where he scored 19 points (including six three-pointers) and had eight assists.

He is originally from McDonough High School in Forestville, just outside of Washington D.C. After high school, he played one year at Chesapeake Community College before redshirting the 2006-07 season at Cecil.

Lowery joins the four players who signed with Dayton during the fall signing period -- 6-10 forward/center Josh Benson of Dayton Dunbar High School, 6-9 forward Luke Fabrizius of John Hersey High School (Arlington Heights, IL), 6-5 guard/forward Chris Johnson of Columbus (OH) Brookhaven High School and 6-3 guard Paul Williams of Detroit Renaissance High School.

Dayton was 23-11 in 2007-08, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT, losing to eventual champion Ohio State in Columbus.