Dayton Flyers

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AMHERST, Mass. – Juwan Staten had 10 points, seven assists and two steals to help the ninth-seeded Dayton Flyers picked up a 78-50 victory over the No. 8 seed Massachusetts Minutemen in the in the first round of the 2011 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship.

Luke Fabrizius came off the bench to lead the scoring with 13 points. Chris Wright tallied 10 points and seven rebounds as Dayton snapped a three-game losing streak. Wright also extended his blocked shot consecutive games streak to 21.

The Flyers will face the No. 1 seed Xavier Musketeers in the A-10 Quarterfinals on Friday, March 11. Tip-off is at noon ET. The game will be televised locally on WHIO.

UD improved to 20-12 overall. The win not only gives Dayton its fourth consecutive 20-plus win season, but also makes the Class of 2011 the winningest in the program’s history (95 wins).

Dayton shot incredibly well early on from beyond the arc, hitting nine of its first 15 shots. That helped the Flyers grab a 27-point lead midway through the second half.

UD led 37-16 at the half, the team’s largest halftime advantage of the season. Brandon Spearman and Fabrizius each scored nine for the Flyers, while Staten had eight.

Dayton’s defense looked great early, limiting UMass to 1-for-14 shooting from the floor to open the game. UMass finished the first 20 minutes of play just 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

That defensive effort continued throughout the game. The Minutemen finished shooting 28 percent from the field and 6-of-30 from beyond the arc.

Dayton meanwhile went 13-of-23 from three-point range and finished the game shooting 53 percent from the floor.

Staten finished 5-of-8 from the field. He also had three rebounds.

Other contributors for Dayton included 11 points from Josh Parker and five points and six rebounds from Paul Williams. Ralph Hill had six points, knocking down two three-pointers.