Jan. 10, 2009

Box Score |  Quotes

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Chris Wright recorded 13 points and nine rebounds as the Dayton Flyers opened Atlantic 10 play with a 75-62 loss to the Massachusetts Minutemen.

Marcus Johnson added 10 points and three rebounds as Dayton had its six-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 14-2 overall and 0-1 in the Atlantic 10.

For the third straight season, the Minutemen stopped a Flyer winning streak heading into conference play. UMass shot 52 percent from the field, had nine blocks and out-rebounded UD 33-26.

After trailing 39-36, the Flyers went on a run and took the lead briefly off a Rob Lowery dunk. However, the Minutemen countered with a 20-2 run of their own to take a 59-42 lead with 10:28 to play. In fact, during that run UD did not have a point in a six-minute stretch and did not have a field goal for nearly nine minutes.

UMass extended the lead to 59-44 with 7:39 remaining and kept the pressure on throughout the second half. Luke Fabrizius nailed back-to-back three pointers to cut the Minutemen advantage to 63-54 with four minutes to play.

The Minutemen however pushed the lead back to 15 at 71-56 with less than two minutes remaining and held on for the victory.

Dayton trailed 35-33 in the first half. UD had a 9-0 run midway in the first half and shot 43 percent from the floor, but was out-rebounded 19-11 and allowed the Minutemen to shoot 52 percent from the field.

Johnson led UD with seven points and two steals in the first 20 minutes of play, while Wright added six points and four rebounds.

London Warren finished with five points and five assists and Fabrizius had six points and two boards. UD shot 40 percent from the field and 8-of-18 from three point range.

The Flyers return home on Wednesday, Jan. 14 to host the Fordham Rams at 7:30 p.m. ET. To purchase tickets, stop by the Ticket Office at UD Arena or call (937) 229-4433. The UD Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET and on weekends three hours prior to the start of men's home basketball games.