Nov. 3, 2009

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DAYTON, Ohio - Five players scored in double figures as the University of Dayton men's basketball team opened the exhibition season Tuesday with an 88-73 victory against the Division II Ferris State Bulldogs.

Sophomore Chris Johnson had a huge night for the Flyers, finishing the game with 14 points and nine rebounds.

The rest of the scoring was UD's typical balanced attack. Senior Mickey Perry led the team with 16 points, while senior Kurt Huelsman added 15 of his own. Sophomore Luke Fabrizius finished with 14 points and Paul Williams tallied 11.

The Flyers found themselves down 9-6 early on in the first half, but a London Warren layup sparked a 14-0 run. The scoring spurt was highlighted by senior Perry's seven points which included a three. Perry ended the half with nine points.

That run would be all the space UD needed as Ferris State never got closer than eight points the remainder of the night.

Johnson enjoyed a big first half, gaining three offensive rebounds with just under 11 minutes to go. Johnson got the rebounds off of two Fabrizius missed threes and then tipped in his own miss.

Fabrizius showed off his range, hitting four field goals and two three pointers, finishing up the half with a team-leading 10 points. Johnson finished the half with eight points and a team leading six rebounds, which included five on the offensive end.

Redshirt freshman Josh Benson got the crowd on its feet with just about four minutes to go. Benson dunked the ball home off a Johnson missed basket, stole the ball at the other end of the court, then dunked an alley-oop from Perry.

Ferris State was led by the tandem of junior Justin Keenan and senior Austin Randel. Keenan finished with a game-leading 25 points and eight boards while Randel scored 22 points going 8-for-14 from the field.

The second half was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams.

Williams got into the scoring in the second half hitting a three with 17 minutes to go, then again on a fast break with 11:03 to go. Sloppy play allowed the Bulldogs to get within 10 with 4:38 to go, however a jumper and foul shot by Huelsman, and a Williams three, got the lead back up to 83-67.

Huelsman finished the game shooting 6-of-7 from the floor and Williams connected on 3-of-4 shots from three point range.

As a team, the Flyers 58 percent from the field and hit seven shots from beyond the arc. Defensively, UD forced 23 turnovers.

Dayton senior guard Marcus Johnson and junior forward Chris Wright sat out with minor injuries, while senior guard Rob Lowery is still recovering from last year's knee surgery.

Dayton will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 9 as they'll take on the Northern Kentucky Norse in their final tune-up before the home opener against the Creighton Bluejays on Nov. 14.

Written by Dan Vohden '11.