March 12, 2008

Box Score |  Quotes

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Sophomore Marcus Johnson scored eight of his team-high 16 points in overtime to help the Dayton Flyers hold on for a 63-62 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens in the opening round of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Dayton moves on to the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament with a showdown against the Xavier Musketeers on Thursday, March 13 at noon ET. Thursday's meeting will be the third time this season the Flyers and Musketeers will have met this season.

Redshirt sophomore Mickey Perry added a career-high 11 points as the Flyers advanced to the quarterfinals with yet another game of balanced scoring and some hard-nosed defense.

Senior Andres Sandoval scored 10 points, junior Charles Little tallied eight points and six rebounds and senior Jimmy Binnie collected six points and five rebounds as UD wins its fourth straight and improves their overall record to 21-9.

Dayton's leading scorer and a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection, Brian Roberts, was held in check with just five points, 14 below his season average.

The Flyer defense, which held its 10th straight opponent shooting below 50 percent, forced the Billikens to commit 18 turnovers and allowed only five offensive rebounds.

It almost didn't come to fruition as Dayton let the 11-point second half lead evaporate thanks to turnovers and failing to convert at the free throw line. UD finished the game converting just 4-of-12 free throw attempts.

UD led 34-25 at halftime thanks to a multitude of scorers. Perry had nine, Johnson added eight and Sandoval tallied seven. Roberts fired only two shots and finished the half with three points. Dayton shot 48 percent from the field and converted 6-of-12 three point attempts with Johnson hitting both shots.

But the Billikens opened the second half on a 5-2 run thanks to the Flyers picking up seven team fouls in the first six minutes of play. A putback by Little and a three-point play by London Warren extended the UD lead to 40-30.

Both teams traded baskets until Perry converted a reverse lay-up and a two Little bank shots extended the Flyers lead to 49-38 with 6:29 to play.

Saint Louis took advantage of the UD miscues and responded with a 12-5 run of its own and cut the deficit to 54-50 with 2:15 to play. Two more Dayton turnovers in their own end allowed the Billikens to crawl back into the game. But a missed three-pointer and a defensive rebound by Little allowed Sandoval to convert a free throw and extend the lead to five with a minute and a half remaining.

The Billikens cut the lead back to three at 55-52 after a lay-up with 1:06 remaining. Saint Louis tied the game at 55-55 with a three-pointer with 51 seconds in regulation.

Roberts had a lay-up waved off after drawing an offensive foul with 21 seconds left. But a steal by Warren and a desperation three attempt by Sandoval that just missed kept the game tied at 55-55 into overtime.

Johnson, who scored in double-figures for the third time in the month of March, opened the overtime with a shot that rolled into the bucket putting the Flyers ahead by two. Liddell made a three-pointer from the left wing to put the Billikens ahead for the first time at 58-57.

Johnson added another three-pointer to help UD regain the lead at 60-58. After a made Billiken free throw, the Flyers held strong on the defensive end allowing Johnson to hit one foul shot of his own to keep the UD lead at two with 1:12 in the first overtime.

On the ensuing possession, Saint Louis regained the lead at 62-61 with a three-point play. Johnson added a runner in the lane to put the Flyers back on top at 63-62 with 32 seconds to go. A missed shot from the left wing allowed the Flyers to continue on in the tournament.

NOTES
Four of the last six Dayton-Saint Louis games have gone into overtime with two of them this season...Mickey Perry surpassed his season and career high in points with nine in the first half alone...although UD is 13th in the A-10 in blocks, the Flyers have recorded a block in 10 consecutive games...the Flyers improved their overall record to 14-11 in the tournament, and are 7-3 in the first round...Brian Roberts extended his streak of consecutive games with a made three-point field goal to 53. Roberts needs just 11 three-point field goals to eclipse Tony Stanley's 291 for first on the all-time list...UD improved to 3-1 in overtime this season.