Dayton Flyers

Dec. 23, 2005

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Dec. 23, 2005

Las Vegas -- The University of Dayton Flyers clawed their way back into the game five times, but had nothing left in the tank to respond to a penultimate Cincinnati closing run in an 81-63 Bearcat win Thursday in the third round of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. UD falls to 8-4 on the season, while UC improves to 8-2 with its fifth straight win.

With the score tied 11-11 five minutes into the game, Cincinnati used a 6-0 run to gain the upper hand. Dayton reeled in the `Cats five times to make it a one-possession game, but UC had an answer each time, and the last answer was an emphatic one. With UD trailing 59-58 coming out of the eight-minute media timeout, the Bearcats outscored the Flyers 22-5 (10 by freshman point guard Devan Downey) in the last 7:56 to take the win.

UD out-rebounded Cincinnati 38-33, and shot slightly better from the field (.449 to .435) and widely better from three-point range (.556 to .118). But UC had a decisive margin in turnovers (just seven to UD's 20), and in fast-break points (12-0). The Bearcats also sizzled at the line, where they made 25 of 27 attempts, while the Flyers made just half of their shots from the line (14 of 28, including just four of 12 in the first half).

Brian Roberts was Dayton's only double-digit scorer with 21 points, while UC had five players in double figures, led by Downey's 21. Jimmy Binnie was valuable off the bench once again for UD, with five points, five rebounds and a career-high four assists in 20 minutes. Norman Plummer led UD in rebounding for the seventh time this year with six.

After facing the #7 in the RPI rankings in Cincinnati, UD will have to bounce back against the #20 team in the RPI, the 9-1 Northern Iowa Panthers. Friday's game time is 5:00 p.m. PST (8:00 p.m. EST).