Feb. 12, 2009

University of Dayton junior guard Rob Lowery will miss the rest of the season following successful surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. The injury was suffered in the first half of last night's win over Xavier.

A typical rehab for an injury of this type is five-to-six months.

"This is a tough thing for anyone who has the passion to play that Rob does," Flyer head coach Brian Gregory said. "I said in the post-game interviews last night that Rob is the kind of young man you are proud to have in your program because of how much he has worked to better himself as a player, a student and a man in the six months he has been with us. That kind of mentality will help him immensely as he works to return to the court this summer."

"The number-one priority is and will continue to be Rob's health and well-being," Gregory emphasized.

The surgery was performed at Miami Valley South Hospital by the Flyers' two orthopedic consultants, Dr. Tim Quinn and Dr. James Klosterman. Quinn performed the surgery, assisted by Klosterman.

University of Dayton men's basketball trainer Nate Seymour was able to observe the procedure as it was done in the Far Oaks Surgical Center.

"Rob's surgery went well," Seymour said. "Being able to actually see what doctors Quinn and Klosterman did will better help us put together a game plan for Rob's rehabilitation program."

Lowery is the team's third-leading scorer, with a 7.5 points per game scoring average in 18.2 minutes of play. He is also second on the team in assists (3.4). He scored his career-high of 21 points in UD's first win over a ranked team this season against Marquette in the championship game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

Dayton's next game is Saturday at home against Richmond at 7:00 p.m. ET.