Dayton Flyers

Nov. 10, 2007

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DAYTON, Ohio - In the first game of his Flyer career, freshman Chris Wright scored 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in a 78-74 UD victory over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers at UD Arena on Saturday.

Senior guard Brian Roberts recorded game-highs of 31 points and five assists. Roberts led UD down the stretch collecting 19 of his 31 points in the second half.

With 5:25 left in the second frame, the Flyers trailed by a point when Roberts pulled up for his third three-pointer of the game. On Dayton's next possession Wright, who recorded his first career double-double in a UD uniform, found Roberts again beyond the arc. Roberts nailed the shot giving UD a 67-64 advantage, a lead that would not be relinquished.

The Buccaneers were not phased by a packed UD arena of more than 12,000 fans. In the first five minutes of play, ETSU made six of their first seven shots to take a 15-7 lead over the Flyers. Dayton shot just 3-of-9 from the floor to open the game.

ETSU guard Courtney Pigram led the scoring for the Buccaneers. The junior shot 7-of-11 in the first half. He also hit three shots from beyond the arc; tallying 20 of his team high 30 points in the first half.

For the Flyers, the scoring came from a familiar source. Roberts had 12 first half points, but the majority of Dayton's scoring came from Wright. The freshman was 5-of-6 in the first half, scoring 14 points, ten of those points coming during a five minute period.

The Buccaneers biggest lead of the game came off of a jumper from Jacolby Davis with 10 minutes left in the half to give his team a 28-19 lead. From there, the Flyers were able to slowly chip away at the lead and went into the locker room trailing by only a point, 41-40.

The second half of the game was a back-and-forth fight for control. Dayton opened the half with a layup from Wright, and took its first lead of the game since the first minute of the game.

The lead changed hands 13 times in the second frame. Neither team was able to put together a run. The biggest point differential was just five points.

East Tennessee State was in foul trouble early on in the second, but the Flyers were unable to take advantage. Dayton shot just 18-of-29 from the line, which kept the team from building a lead.

The key point of the game came with 4:42 left on the clock as Roberts hit back-to-back three pointers. The Flyers never looked back and were able to hold on during the game's final minutes for a 78-74 win.