Dec. 23, 2008
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A 12-0 Dayton run midway through the second half broke a 40-40 tie and helped the Flyers to a 62-50 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd on Tuesday. Sophomore Chris Wright tallied game-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Flyers improved to 11-1 overall and 8-0 at home.
Marshall averaged 78 points per game entering Tuesday, but the Flyers held the Herd to a season-low 50 with pressure defense. Marshall was just 15-of-48 from the field (31 percent) and committed eight more turnovers than the Flyers.
Dayton has now held seven of its last eight home opponents to under 60 points. Additionally, the Flyers have limited 11 of 12 opponents this year to under 40 percent from the field.
Assisting Wright for Dayton was junior Marcus Johnson with 11 points and senior Charles Little with seven points and five rebounds.
Marshall (6-5) was paced by 14 points from Chris Lutz.
Marcus Johnson started the scoring with a jumper on Dayton's first possession of the game.
Despite making the first shot, both teams went cold from the field in the first half. Dayton made just 5-of-27 shot attempts in the half, but a solid defensive effort allowed the Flyers to hold a steady lead.
A pair of Devin Searcy free throws at the 8:01 mark gave UD its biggest lead of the half, 15-10. However, the Herd thundered back to take its first lead of the night, 22-21, with 1:45 remaining.
Dayton ended the half on a 4-0 run and took a 25-22 lead into the locker room. Johnson led all scorers at halftime with eight points.
Despite shooting just 26 percent in the first half, the Flyers made 10-of-12 free throws and held Marshall to 29 percent shooting.
Both teams got off to a better start in the second half as each squad connected on three of its first five field goal tries.
The Flyers continued to hold a slim lead, aided by two consecutive field goals by Searcy off the bench. But with 13:25 remaining, a lay-up by Marshall's Marcus Goode pulled the Herd to within one, 38-37.
With the score knotted at 40 minutes later, Wright and sophomore Stephen Thomas took over. The duo combined to score the first eight points of UD's crucial 12-0 run. The stretch was highlighted by a one-handed flush by Wright after coming off a screen.
Marshall was held without a field goal for a stretch of 11:20 in the second half. The run was finally snapped by a pair of Marshall free throws at the 3:28 mark, but Dayton already had the game in control, leading 52-42.
More than 13,000 fans braved the icy roads to watch the Flyers start 11-1 for the second year in a row.
The Flyers are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 30 against George Mason at UD Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. EST, and the game will be aired on WHIO-TV. Fans can also follow the action with live video streaming and Gametracker at www.DaytonFlyers.com.
