Jan. 27, 2007

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Audio: Coach Gregory Press Conference

CINCINNATI - Visiting Dayton could not overcome a 20-point deficit from the free throw line and a career-high 24 points from Blackburn-McCafferty MVP Justin Doellman in an 83-67 loss at Xavier on Saturday. With the loss, Dayton falls to 13-7 overall and 3-4 in Atlantic 10 play.

The statistics were all even on the afternoon except for free throw shooting where homestanding Xavier made 28-of-33 (.848) free throws on the day while Dayton went to the line just 10 times, converting eight. UD made 26 field goals to XU's 25, matched the Musketeers with 12 turnovers and connected on 7-of-17 shots from three-point range while collecting 30 points off the Flyer bench.

Junior Brian Roberts led the Dayton offense with 15 points and four assists while classmate Norman Plummer came off the bench for 14 points on 7-for-14 shooting and a team-high six rebounds. Senior Monty Scott finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists of his own for the Flyers.

Doellman led all scorers with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting while also collecting four blocks and six rebounds for Xavier. All five Musketeer starters reached double figures in scoring including 14 points from Stanley Burrell, 13 each by Justin Cage and Drew Lavender and 12 from Brandon Cole.

Dayton made a decided effort to work the ball inside early, but a pair of treys from Jimmy Binnie gave UD its first lead of the game, 8-6, at the 17:36 mark of the first half. The baskets were key in a 12-0 run in a span of 1:45 that saw the Flyers take a 14-6 lead.

Xavier appeared to have regained momentum with a three-point play by Stanley Burrell and an layup from Justin Doellman to pull within one at 14-13, but UD went on another flurry to build its lead back to nine at 21-13 on a jumper from the corner by Brian Roberts with 13:28 remaining in the first half.

Senior Monty Scott followed with a three-point basket from the right wing to become the 40th member of UD's 1,000-Point Club. The basket put the Flyers ahead 24-16 with 11:55 left in the opening half of play.

From there Xavier took control with a 13-0 run that was aided by three Flyer turnovers and seven personal fouls that resulted in eight made Musketeer free throws. London Warren hit a three from the left wing with 7:06 to snap a scoreless string of 4:49 that saw the Flyers fall behind, 31-27.

A late rally by the Flyers gave UD a one-point halftime lead. Norman Plummer pulled down a missed trey by the Musketeers and started a fast break that resulted in a three-point shot by Brian Roberts. Monty Scott rebounded the miss on the right block and his put back attempt was good while being fouled. The senior converted from the charity stripe to pull the Flyers within one. Then another XU miss in the final seconds gave UD the ball with 43 seconds left in the half. Brian Roberts made good on the opportunity with a trey from the right corner as Dayton took a 43-42 lead into the locker room.

Despite a 13-3 deficit in points from the free throw line and a 12-8 shortfall at points off turnovers, UD held a one-point halftime lead because of a 6-for-8 shooting effort from long range. The Flyers also held a 16-14 lead at points in the paint and a 58.6 percent to 50.0 percent shooting advantage overall. Dayton was led from the outside by Jimmy Binnie who hit 2-of-2 shots from beyond the arc for six points and on the inside by eight points off the bench, on 4-for-4 shooting, by Norman Plummer.

Xavier opened the second half on a tear with a 12-0 run led by seven points in the first 4:26 by Justin Doellman to take a 54-43 lead. Dayton finally got on the board with a three from Monty Scott at the 15:15 mark, but struggled with foul trouble and fell behind by as many as 15 with 10:36 left.

UD closed to within 10 on a jumper from Marcus Johnson at 6:10 remaining, but it would get no closer as the Flyers fell, 83-67, for the 22nd straight time in the Queen City during the most renewed rivalry in either team's basketball history.