Jan. 12, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes

DAYTON, OH - University of Dayton point guard Warren Williams celebrated his 21st birthday by leading the Flyers to a 63-62 win over the Richmond Spiders Wednesday night at UD Arena. Williams set career-highs in points (17 ) and rebounds (8), and after he made a three with 4:13 left, UD did not trail again. The Flyers (8-5; 1-1 Atlantic 10) earn their first conference win of the season, while Richmond falls to 5-8 (0-2 A-10).

Freshmen Brian Roberts and Norman Plummer each added 14 points, while Monty Scott added nine. Plummer also chipped in six boards while Roberts had three assists in a game that featured 13 ties and 19 lead changes.

Daon Merritt led Richmond with 19 points while Kevin Steenberge added 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

The two teams got off to a 0-for-8 start shooting before the first bucket by Richmond at the 17:50 mark. The Flyers answered with a three and a pair of free-throws by Williams to take a 7-6 lead. A 7-3 run by the Spiders gave UR a 14-9 lead before the Flyer D held Richmond scoreless for six minutes. A three from Monty Scott and bucket from Plummer put the Flyers ahead 18-17 with 5:42 to go before the break.

Scott answered a three-pointer from Richmond's Courtney Nelson with a triple of his own to tie the game at 21-21, and Brian Roberts gave UD 23-21 lead with a pair for free throws. Then the Spiders' Patrick O'Malley and Williams traded three-pointers before Merritt's two free-throws tied the game back up at 26-26 going into the break.

Williams led the Flyers at half with 10 points, while Merritt had 10 for the Spiders.

Richmond opened the second half with a 5-0 run, before an `and-one' from Plummer pulled UD within two, 31-29. After four-straight points from Richmond, Roberts drained back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game.

A four-point play from Jermaine Bucknor gave Richmond a 47-45 lead before Jimmy Binnie hit a jumper from the elbow to tie the game once again.

The Flyers took the lead on a Plummer lay-in, and established a three-point lead on free throws, 52-49 with 5:45 to go. The Spiders answered with a dunk by Kevin Steenberge, but Williams responded with a three and a lay-up. Then Plummer hit a jumper that put UD up 61-57, but the Spiders answered again, as a Steenberge bucket made it a two-point game.

Dayton stopped Richmond on the defensive end, with Roberts drawing an offensive foul with 18.5 seconds remaining. Roberts knocked down two free-throws, putting UD up 63-59 with 14.5 to go. After a three from Bucknor made it a one-point game, Roberts missed a pair from the line giving Richmond one last chance. Inbounding with 3.1 seconds left, Merritt brought the ball up court and got off a hurried shot before the buzzer that caught only glass.

Head Coach Brian Gregory improved to 4-0 all-time versus Jerry Wainwright's Spider club, as Dayton increased the all-time series lead to 8-1 and 6-0 at UD Arena.

The Flyers visit Duquesne on Saturday at the Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh. The Dukes and Flyers tip off their Atlantic 10 matinee at 1:00 p.m. The Flyers will host Saint Joseph's on January 19 and La Salle on January 22, before taking to the road for the next five of six.

Dayton Head Coach Brian Gregory
"I knew this would be a tough test for us tonight and we responded. Preparing to play Richmond is as tough as anyone in the country."

"We did good things tonight both defensively and at the end of the game with how we handled our situations."

"Tonight we had guys who don't normally play big for us step up when we needed it."

"After last week's game against Duquesne you think that the guys might be afraid to be in another tight game, but we had composure tonight when we needed it the most."

[On Warren Williams] "He did a good job of pushing the ball tonight. I am always hard on point guards, but tonight he took all good shots and played some good defense. Overall he ran the team well."

[On Brian Roberts] "He has a slight build, but he plays with great confidence."

"At the end of the game, there was no way that anyone else was going to get the ball but him. He wanted to be on the free throw line at the end of the game."

Dayton Freshman Norman Plummer
"Coach stressed all year they (Richmond) would be tough. We practiced a lot for this game. We thought we gave a game away last week and we didn't want that to happen again."

Dayton Freshman Brian Roberts "It was another nail biter. We knew coming in that it was going to be hard."

"I think that tonight gives us a lot of confidence after letting one slip away last week,"

Dayton Junior Warren Williams
"It's definitely a special birthday for me tonight."

"Shooting well last night gave me a little bit of confidence heading into tonight's game."

"Richmond is a good defensive team and they run the break very well."

Dayton Sophomore Monty Scott
"Winning a game like this feels great. We wanted to bounce back after last week's loss to Duquesne."

Richmond Head Coach Jerry Wainwright
"This was a very competitive game. Both teams are very young but did a good job."

"This is a great basketball environment. Both teams will benefit from this game. Obviously the team that wins benefits more."

"I thought we played pretty steady under pressure. Our defense is getting better. The foul trouble hurt us for the second straight game. This is something we will learn from."