Dec. 2, 2006
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DAYTON, Ohio - Junior Norman Plummer scored a season-high 19 points, sophomore Charles Little added a career-high 16 and freshman Marcus Johnson added 10 as the Flyers used a strong second half to upend the Holy Cross Crusaders, 69-53, at UD Arena. The Flyers remained unbeaten at home this season as they padded their overall record to 6-1. Holy Cross fell to 6-2 on the season.
UD opened the contest by making five of its first seven shots and finished a scorching 60 percent for the game (25-of-42). Dayton outscored Holy Cross 42-24 in the second half as the Crusaders shot just 6-of-22 after the break. UD also shot 16-of-20 from the foul line and dominated in the paint, outscoring Holy Cross 38-18 in the lane.
Tonight's performance marked the first time Plummer reached double-figures in scoring this season since returning to Dayton's lineup. The 6-7 forward shot 6-of-8 from the field, while Little was 8-of-11 and Johnson was 4-of-5. Holy Cross held Dayton's top two scorers this season, Brian Roberts and Monty Scott, to a total of 10 points.
Keith Simmons finished with 15 points to lead the Crusaders while Torey Thomas added 13.
Junior Jimmy Binnie got his first start of the season, and opened with a bang. Binnie nailed a three-pointer from the corner on Dayton's first possession after a pass from sophomore Charles Little. Alex Vander Baan answered on the Crusader's first possession with a triple, but a Kurt Huelsman free throw and lay-in gave UD an early 6-3 lead at the 16:50 mark.
Holy Cross's Pat Doherty hit back-to-back three pointers off the bench, but a Little baseline jam and a Marcus Johnson triple put the Flyers up 14-11 with 12:13 remaining in the half.
Johnson's trey sparked a 9-0 Dayton run. Following back-to-back jumpers from the paint by Monty Scott and Little, two Norman Plummer free throws stretched Dayton's lead to 20-11 at the 8:03 mark.
The Crusaders battled back to take their first lead of the game at the 6:28 mark after a 12-0 run of their own. Doherty's third three-pointer of the half came at the 6:46 mark as Holy Cross pulled back to within four at 20-16. A Vander Baan three-pointer gave Holy Cross a one-point lead. A Keith Simmons tip-in extended the lead to 23-20.
Brian Roberts scored his first bucket with 3:08 to go in the half to snap the run. Prior to the basket, Dayton was held scoreless for nearly five minutes. Junior Andres Sandoval tied the game, 23-23, on a foul shot. It was his first point as a Flyer after foot surgery kept him out of the first five games.
Holy Cross took a 29-27 lead into the locker room. Eight players scored in the half for UD, led by Plummer's seven. Doherty was tops for the Crusaders with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Dayton shot 58 percent in the first half, but an 8-0 Crusader advantage in fast break points gave Holy Cross the lead.
Play resumed with Sandoval knocking down the first field goal of the second half, a three-pointer from the top of the key. Then with 16:58 left to play, the Flyers took their first lead since the 6:29 mark in the first half, 32-30, on a Plummer jumper. Plummer scored eight consecutive Dayton points over a 3:29 stretch to give UD a 38-30 lead.
Johnson then picked up a loose ball and drove the court for an easy lay-in. Dayton's lead increased to eight as it outscored the Crusaders 13-3 in the first 7:47 of the second half.
Johnson energized the crowd at the 10:56 mark as the 6-3 freshman guard skied for two offensive rebounds and eventually finished the job with a lay-in and a foul. Johnson converted the three-point play, putting the Flyers up 45-37.
The Flyers continued to crash the boards as Binnie pulled down an offensive rebound (one of eight second half offensive boards for UD) and dished to Huelsman. Huelsman finished an easy lay-in that stretched the lead back to double figures. Freshman guard London Warren later delivered a no-look pass that found a wide-open Plummer under the hoop for another lay-in with 7:51 to go. The Dayton lead was 51-38 as Holy Cross connected on only three of its 15 first field goal attempts of the second half.
Second half Flyer foul trouble aided the Crusaders as they stayed in the game from the charity stripe. But Little's athletic play kept distance between the teams. His uncontested throw-down put UD up 59-46 with 3:13 to play. Roberts later drove the lane and missed a tough shot that was rebounded and hammered home by Little.
The Crusaders struggled to piece together a late, due in part to their inability to stop the Flyers from scoring. UD shot 15-of-25 from the field in the second half, and 11-13 from the foul line. Dayton also outscored Holy Cross 26-8 in the lane following the intermission. Roberts would ice the game with four late foul shots as Dayton improved to 5-0 at UD Arena this year.
Dayton returns to action on Wednesday when they host Missouri Valley Conference power Creighton, which is receiving votes in both major national polls, at UD Arena at 9:00 p.m. ET. The game will be shown on ESPNU and follows the UD women's game against Loyola Chicago which tips off at 6:00 p.m. ET.
