March 8, 2007
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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A 22-point, three assist performance from junior Brian Roberts couldn't stop the hot shooting Xavier Musketeers in a 72-51 loss in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship.
Sophomore Charles Little scored all 11 points in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting as Dayton had its three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 19-12 overall.
The difference in the game for the Flyers was an eight-minute scoring drought in the first half. Xavier went on a 16-2 run to go up 24-19 with less than three minutes remaining. During that stretch the Flyers were held to 0-of-9 shooting from the floor.
That scoring drought was the longest of the year for Dayton whose previous season high was a six and a half minute stretch at Saint Louis.
Dayton was limited on the offensive end with senior Monty Scott and freshman Marcus Johnson out with injuries. UD shot 43 percent from the floor and hit only 5-of-17 three-point attempts.
Meanwhile, Xavier knocked down 51 percent of its shots from the floor and shot 41 percent from beyond the arc.
In a physical first half by both teams, the Flyers started off hot, but faded toward the end. UD hit three of their first four shots from beyond the arc to take an early 11-6 lead.
Freshman Kurt Huelsman pushed the lead to 17-10 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half with a lay-up in the post. At that point, six different Flyers scored the first seven field goals.
But Xavier ended up leading 33-27 at halftime with Roberts scoring the final 11 points for the Flyers. Roberts' 15 first half points was better than either of his two previous performances against the Musketeers this season.
The Flyers shot 11-for-29 from the field in the opening 20 minutes with Roberts nailing 6-of-11 shots and two three-pointers. But other than Roberts, no UD player hit more than one field goal.
Roberts finished the game shooting 9-for-18 from the floor and hit three three point baskets.
The Musketeers opened the second half with a 10-2 run to go up 43-29 with 17:27 remaining. Although Dayton would chip away and cut the deficit to 10, Xavier would increase its lead to 18 up 52-34 with less than 12 minutes to play.
UD answered with an 8-0 run thanks to two buckets by Little and Roberts to cut the Xavier lead to 52-42.
Yet Dayton could get no closer as Xavier pushed their lead to 61-46 with 6:28 remaining. The Musketeers eventually would push their advantage to 19 with less than two minutes to play.
Xavier swept the season series against the Flyers winning all three contests.
Other contributors for the Flyers included junior Jimmy Binnie with five points and four assists and Huelsman with four points and four boards.
