Dayton Flyers (17-10, 10-6 Atlantic 10, West #3) vs. St. Bonaventure Bonnies (2-25, 1-15 Atlantic 10, East #6)

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 • US Bank Arena • Cincinnati, OH • First Round • Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship

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Flyer Facts The University of Dayton men's basketball team will begin play in its tenth Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship Wednesday when the Flyers take on the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at US Bank Arena. The game is the second game of a doubleheader, and is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. EST. Dayton finished the regular season 17-10 overall and 10-6 in the A-10. UD tied Xavier for second place in the A-10 West Division, but the Flyers are the West #3 seed via tiebreaker.

Dayton was 24-9 last season, winning the EA Sports Maui Invitational, the A-10 West Division and reaching the NCAA tournament for the third time in five years.

** Dayton is one of ten teams who have 10 or more players averaging 11 or more minutes a game. But Dayton is the only one playing six freshman that much. And despite that, UD is the only one of the ten likely to be playing in the post-season.

** Dayton is 11-8 in nine previous A-10 tournament appearances. UD is 7-2 in the last three, advancing to the semifinals three times, reaching the championship game the last two years and winning the championship in 2003.

** Dayton's game at Rhode Island on January 27 was Brian Gregory's 50th game as UD's head coach, and his 36-14 record at the 50-game mark is the second-best in school history. Gregory trails only Don Donoher's remarkable 40-10 start. Gregory was named collegeinsider.com's Atlantic Coach of the Year last week.

** UD dug a hole too deep to escape and fell to Xavier, 74-65, at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati Saturday afternoon. UD pulled to within three points (58-55) with 3:37 remaining in the game, but X answered with a 5-0 run to get the win. In his final regular season game, senior Mark Jones led three Flyers in double-figures with 15 points. Freshmen Trent Meacham and Norman Plummer each. The homestanding Musketeers opened the game with a 14-0 lead and extended the advantage to 17-2 at the 11:50 before UD could get anything rolling offensively. Stanley Burrell scored 10 of the Musketeers first 12 points en route to a game-high 25.

Probable Starters
Pos	No.	Name	HT	YR.	PPG	RPG	APG	NOTES
F	 1	Monty Scott	6-6	So.	11.5	4.7	0.7	UD's only double-digit scorer
F	21	Norman Plummer	6-7	Fr.	8.6	4.3	0.4	15 points, 5 rebounds @ X
C	32	Chris Alvarez	6-8	Fr.	3.1	3.9	0.9	Career-high 12 pts vs. Fordham
G	14	Mark Jones	6-1	Sr.	8.0	3.3	1.9	15 points, 4 rebounds @ X
G	11	Warren Williams	6-0	Jr.	6.9	2.2	3.3	Career-high 18 points @ GW
Key Reserves
G	 2	Brian Roberts	6-2	Fr.	9.2	2.6 	1.4	Six double-figures in last 10
C	 5	Nick Stafford	6-8	R-Fr.	1.8	2.1	0.2	Second on team in blocks
G	10	Trent Meacham	6-3	Fr.	6.7	1.8	2.9	14 points (4-5 3-pt.) @ X
G	15	Logan White	6-4	Jr.	0.8	0.2	0.0	First points of season @ Vandy
F	22	Marques Bennett	6-4	Jr.	4.2	3.4	0.9	Black/Mac MVP @ Dayton
F	33	Jimmy Binnie	6-6	Fr.	3.4	2.3	0.7	Career-high 13 points @ GW
C	44	James Cripe	6-11	So.	2.1	1.0	0.3	Has missed 9 games w/injuries
Head Coach:  Brian Gregory - Second Year at UD (41-19)

Head Coach Brian Gregory Second-year head coach Brian Gregory led Dayton to a 24-9 record last season and the 2004 Atlantic 10 West Division Championship. The Flyers advanced to the Atlantic 10 Championship Game before making their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament last year. Gregory is the only coach to lead his team to the Maui Invitational championship in his first season as a head coach. Brian and his wife Yvette welcomed their second daughter (Elyse Brianna, the little sister of three-year-old Isabella) into their family on Wednesday, January 19, four hours before UD won at home over St. Joe's. Elyse attended her first game when UD beat Xavier 59-55 on Saturday, February 19.

Stories The Stats Tell Eight different UD players have led the team in scoring this season. Monty Scott has led ten times...Nine have led in rebounding. Monty Scott has led nine times...UD has outrebounded 16 of 27 opponents this year, even though no Flyer averages even five rebounds a game...Five Flyers are averaging at least one offensive rebound a game...Dayton has six players shooting 35% or better from 3-pt. range....Norman Plummer has attempted 26 more free throws than anyone else on the team this season...In the month of February, freshman Brian Roberts averaged a team-high 10.0 points a game and shot .522 (24-46) from the field and .857 (12-14) from the line....UD has trailed at halftime in the last four games.

Series Stuff The series between the Flyers and Bonnies began during the 1948-49 season, and is tied 8-8. Dayton has won the last two meetings, including a 68-61 win this season in Olean on February 22. The two teams have met four times in the A-10 tournament. SBU leads 3-1. The Flyers' first two games in the tournament were first-round losses in 1996 and 1997. Dayton edged the Bonnies 70-69 in overtime in a first round game in 1999. The last time the teams met in the A-10 tournament was a 56-50 St. Bonaventure win in the 2000 semifinals.

Tough Town In the last 23 years, UD has played in Cincinnati 39 times, and driven back up I-75 victorious exactly one time. But it was a dilly. The last time the Flyers played a game in what is now known as US Bank Arena, they beat #12 Kentucky 68-66 on November 29, 2000. Since the 1981-82 season, the other 38 games have been against Xavier (20 times), Cincinnati (15), Tulsa (in the 1985 Pre-Season NIT), Saint Louis (in the 1994 Great Midwest tournament) and Loyola (in the 1992 Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament).

Three-Point String UD has made a three-pointer in 492 straight games, which is the ninth longest streak in Division I. Through games of March 6, UNLV and Vanderbilt have made at least one in their last 596 games, followed by Kentucky (566), Arkansas (544), Duke (544), Western Kentucky (534), Princeton (519), North Carolina State (496), Dayton (492) and Charlotte (486). Only Vandy, UNLV and Princeton have hit a trey in every game since the three-point line was added in 1986-87.

Triple Play UD has shot better from three-point range than inside the arc 11 times this season (eight times in A-10 play). Dayton has shot .500 or better from "downtown" in seven of the last 13 games, and five of the last nine.

Strength of Schedule The Flyers' four non-conference losses were to teams with a combined record of 82-35 (games through 3/8). UC is 24-6 and ranked 22nd, OVC Champion Eastern Kentucky is 22-8, already qualified for the NCAA's, DePaul is 18-9 and Vanderbilt is 18-12.

Dayton An NCAA Tournament Regular UD has made 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including the past two seasons, and three of the last five. UD has also been rather successful in its previous trips to the NCAA's, making it to six Sweet Sixteens and the 1967 Final Four.

UD A Proven Winner The Flyers are one of just 17 teams to earn 20+ wins in each of the last five seasons. They are Arizona, Creighton, UD, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Kansas, Kent, UK, Maryland, Oklahoma, Stanford, Syracuse, Texas, Utah State and Xavier.

Close Calls Under Gregory Dayton is 15-7 in games decided by five points or less at the end of regulation under second-year head coach Brian Gregory. In fact, four of those losses came at the buzzer (two on the road) and two others were in double overtime.

Eye 75 On The Scoreboard The Flyers are 11-1 under head coach Brian Gregory when they score at least 75 points. The only loss was this year's 94-93 double overtime loss vs. Duquesne. In contrast, UD is 29-17 when scoring less than 75 points in the last two years.

Did You Know? UD won more games than any other school in both the 1950s and `60s. UD won 435 games between 1950 and 1969 and ranks among the top teams of the 1950s and 1960s in Division I history. The Flyers' .763 (228-71) winning percentage in the 1950s ranks fifth in the decade. Their .729 (207-77) winning percentage ranks eighth in the 1960s.

Traveling In Style For the first time this season, Dayton traveled to all but two of its away games by charter plane. The SBU game was the last road game of the regular season. Other than bus trips to Duquesne and Xavier, UD chartered to all other away games to limit the amount of time spent away from campus and missed class time. To help defray costs, selected donors were offered the chance to join the Flyers on the trips.

A Senior Moment Guard Mark Jones is the only senior on the UD roster, and he closed his regular season career with a team-high 15 points at Xavier. He is fourth on the team in scoring (8.0), third in assists (1.9) and tied for second in minutes (23.4). He's reached double figures just twice in the 2005 calendar year with 15 points at X and 13 (10 in the second half) at La Salle. Still, he didn't just run and hide for nine weeks. He made his buckets count. He scored five points in UD's game-clinching run in the Fordham win. At Rhode Island, he nailed a pair of momentum-swinging threes on successive possessions. He scored eight of UD's last 17 points in that game, and assisted on Marques Bennett's three that gave UD the lead for good. In the SBU win, he made four straight free throws in the last 19 seconds to clinch the win. Both of his baskets came in the second half in the UMass win (UD was down at halftime), including the layup that gave the Flyers their first lead of the half. Jones has reached double figures seven times in 2004-05. His only non-start of the season was when he played just eight minutes against Cornell, due to the flu. Last year's winner of the Uhl Family Endowed Scholarship and Alex Schoen Memorial Free Throw Trophy, Jones finished the 2003-04 season ranked second on the team in assists, and fourth in scoring and rebounding.

Monty, Monty, Monty Second-year forward Monty Scott was named as one of the "top breakout candidates for 2004-05" by CBSSportsline.com. He's started breaking out after the first of the year, scoring a career-high 25 points in a career-high 40 minutes against Duquesne, and recording his first career double-double (10 points and career-high 12 rebounds) in the Cornell win. All ten of his points vs. the Big Red came in the second half. He matched that 25 in the first La Salle game and was named A-10 co-Player of the Week. He led all scorers at Rhode Island with 16 points, and led UD with 17 at La Salle. Scott has led UD in scoring in four of the last six games, including 16 at SBU. He led in both scoring (15) and rebounding (8) in the UMass win. The only frontcourt player to start every game this season for UD, he leads the Flyers in scoring (11.5), rebounding (4.7) and minutes (25.0). He is second in FG% (.444, 114-257). He has almost doubled his scoring average from a year ago (6.3). Scott won the 2003-04 Thomas M. Luppe Memorial Award, which is given annually to the team's best new player.

Putting It On The Line Eight of UD's 11 players who have attempted a free throw this year are shooting .700 or better, led by Logan White's 1.000 (2-2) and Trent Meacham's .896 (43-48). Mark Jones is shooting .807 (46-57), Brian Roberts (.778, 42-54), Jimmy Binnie (.765, 13-17), James Cripe .750 (9-12), Warren Williams (.746, 47-63) and Monty Scott (.727, 32-44).

Something About Birthdays Junior Warren Williams has a knack for making a happy event even better. The DeMatha grad started for the first time in his hometown and scored a career-high 18 points and passed out seven assists at GW. His previous career high came when he celebrated his 21st birthday on January 12 with 17 points (6-8 FG, 3-5 3-pt., 2-2 FT) and eight rebounds (also a career high, and both leading the team) in the win over Richmond. A week later, on the day Brian and Yvette Gregory's baby daughter was born (Elyse Brianna), he matched the 17 points (5-7 FG, 3-3 3-pt., 4-5 FT) and added four assists in the win over Saint Joseph's. He did not score in the first La Salle game, but had a career-high nine assists. He leads the team in assists (3.3) this season. He and Monty Scott are the only two Flyers to start every game. His two freebies with 3.5 seconds left gave UD a one-point win over UMass. He shared UD's Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award with Marques Bennett last season.

The Closer In four of UD's A-10 wins, Marques Bennett's only field goal has been a late-game bucket that could be considered the biggest bucket of the game. At Duquesne, he drilled one with 1:44 left to turn away the Dukes' final comeback. His trey with 5:21 left gave UD the lead for good in the St. Joe win, after UD came back from eight points down. At Rhode Island, a bomb with 3:02 to go gave the Flyers the lead for good after URI led by as much as four. And against Xavier, his only field goal tied the game with 38 seconds left, and the "and one" free throw he sank gave UD the lead for keeps.

Bennett A Big Contributor Junior Marques Bennett was named the winner of the Blackburn/McCafferty MVP Trophy in the Xavier win, after he scored all five of his points in the last 38 seconds of that come-from-behind win. He came off the bench score a career-high 14 points (13 in the second half) at Temple. Bennet hit three of four three-pointers in the game. He had a then-career-high 12 points and then-career-high eight rebounds and lead UD to its first win of year over Coppin State. He upped his rebound best to nine against Duquesne. He also had four steals vs. Duquesne. For the season, he is third on the team in 3-pt. FG% (.408, 20-49). He has played all three frontcourt positions (yes, even center at 6-4) at times this year for UD. Last season, he was the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award winner, sharing it with Warren Williams. He was also named the team's best defender in 2003-04.

And You Are.... Dayton has one of the nation's youngest teams with eight newcomers to the roster this season. Coach Brian Gregory's regular rotations have at least three freshman on the floor nearly 50% of the time (and four freshmen around 17%). UD's five signees from last season are the core of a recruiting class that ranked as high as 17th in the country. The group of Chris Alvarez, Jimmy Binnie, Trent Meacham, Norman Plummer and Brian Roberts were ranked 20th by PrepSpotlight and 29th by Hoopscoop.

Recognized Rookies Flyer newcomers Trent Meacham and Norman Plummer were both named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Rookie Team at the conference's media day on Nov. 4 in Philadelphia. The team was selected by the A-10's coaches and media.

Familiar Freshmen UD freshmen Jimmy Binnie and Trent Meacham played together before they arrived in Dayton. They were teammates on the Iowa-based Martin Brothers Select team that was the 17-and-under AAU National Runner-up in 2003. In the fall of 2003, they were Co-MVPs of the "Hoops in the Heartland" tournament.

Meacham Makes His Mark Freshman guard Trent Meacham stepped up his game at Temple, scoring a career-high 17 points, tying his career high with six steals and also getting two steals while committing just two turnovers. He had 14 points (4-5 FG) at Xavier. He has come off the bench to score double figures ten times. He has led UD in assists 12 times this season, and is second on the team in that category (2.9). After having four assists and five turnovers in the opener, he has gone nearly 2-to-1 in A/T ratio (70 assists, 42 turnovers) since. He also had six assists in the Akron win. He leads the team in 3-pt. FG% (.458, 27-59).

Believe In Binnie Freshman forward Jimmy Binnie scored ten points (4-5 FG, 2-3 3-pt.) in the UMass win, including seven in the game's final 6:18. He had a career-high 13 points in 16 minutes at GW. He had nine points and five rebounds at Richmond. He had nine points in the first half of the Coppin State win, and then was shut down as Eagle coach "Fang" Mitchell resorted to a box-and-one defense when Binnie was in the game. Binnie also had seven boards vs. CSU. His five rebounds led UD in the Xavier win (tied with Chris Alvarez). He had four points, three rebounds and three assists in the Akron win. After not getting any assists in the first seven games, he has had 18 in his last 20.

Above Normal Norman Rookie forward Norman Plummer was the first Flyer freshman to start in his first college game since Tony Stanley did so in 1997. After scoring just four points in the first two games, he scored 22 in the next two. He is second on the team in rebounding (4.3) and minutes (23.4), and is third in scoring (8.6) and FG% (.442, 84-190). He had 14 points (8-8 FT) and five rebounds at Xavier. He erupted for 24 points in the first La Salle game in Dayton, making his first ten shots from the field. He has scored in double figures 11 times this season. In the Texas Southern win, he had his first career double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds). He scored 19 points in the Akron win, leading all scorers in the game.

B-Rob B-Good Freshman guard Brian Roberts is the Flyers' top scorer off the bench (and second overall), averaging 9.3 points a game. He has had 13 double-figure games (ten in his last 17) - including 10 in his first college game vs. EKU, a team-high 13 points and career-high eight rebounds at Vanderbilt, a career-high 17 points vs. Duquesne, 14 vs. Richmond, and in the last two games, 13 at GW, 11 in the Fordham win, 14 at Temple, 10 in the X win, a team-high 15 at home against GW and 11 against UMass. Five of his double-figure efforts have come on the road. He was A-10 Rookie of the Week on 12/19.

You Can Call Me Al-varez Freshman forward Chris Alvarez scored a career-high 12 points while getting eight rebounds and two steals to lead the Flyers to the win over Fordham. He led UD in rebounding (9) in the EKU game, making him the first freshman to lead UD in rebounding in his first college game since Ryan Perryman had 15 against Howard in 1994. Alvarez is third on the team in rebounding (3.9). At Vandy, he had eight points and six boards. At Duquesne, he had seven points and eight rebounds and followed with seven and seven vs. SJU. In the XU win, he had six points and a team-high five rebounds.

UD Inks Two Recruits For 2005-06 Season University of Dayton men's basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff continue to make a national impact on the recruiting front with the signing of their second recruiting class. Both Flyer recruits -- 6-9, 260-pound center/power forward Desmond Adedeji (pronounced ADD-ah-dee-gee) from DeMatha High School in the Washington, DC area, and 6-6, 220-pound forward Charles Little from Cleveland (TN) -- signed National Letters of Intent. "Our adding Desmond and Charles completes a two-year recruiting cycle for us," Gregory said, "filling the roles of a versatile big man and a powerfully athletic wing player. In these past two classes we have added just about every type of player a team needs." DeMatha is currently 27-1 and ranked #1 in DC and seventh nationally. The Stags won their 34th WCAC championship this season, going undefeated in league play for the first time since 1998 . Cleveland is 25-9 and is one step away from the Tennessee state tournament (final eight teams). Little is one of three finalists for Tennessee's Division 3-A "Mr. Basketball Award." A Diverse Dayton Roster The Flyer basketball program boasts (counting the fall signees) 18 players from ten different states. Seven UD players hail from Ohio, and two are from Illinois and Maryland. One player each is from Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee.

Atop The A-10 UD leads the Atlantic 10 (games through 3/5) in three-point field goals made per game (7.96) and 3-pt. FG% (.385, 215-559). The Flyer are second in fewest turnovers per game (13.2). The Flyers are also third in scoring defense (62.1), and turnover margin (+1.37). Monty Scott is 21st in scoring (11.5), fourth in 3-pt. FG% (.389, 51-131) and 10th in three-pointers per game (1.89). Warren Williams is 11th in assists (3.26). Among freshmen, Trent Meacham is third in assists (2.89) and 13th overall. In A-10 games only, UD leads in 3-pt. FG's per game (8.44) and 3-pt. FG% (.414, 135-326).

Dayton A National Leader In NCAA Graduation Rate Report The University of Dayton was listed as one of the nation's leaders in the 2004 NCAA Division I Graduation Rates Report. UD tied for 15th nationally in the four-year average at a rate of 81 percent. Dayton was also tied for 19th in the one-year average with an 84 percent graduation rate. The report also noted that every one of the 229 scholarship student-athletes that entered the UD from 1988-89 to 1997-98 and completed their eligibility at UD have graduated.

UD Arena - A Home Court Advantage Like No Other The Flyers have been winning at an above average rate at UD Arena ever since the building opened on December 6, 1969 when UD defeated Bowling Green, 72-70. Dayton holds an all-time winning percentage of .717 (433-171) at home. UD has defeated a ranked team on Tom Blackburn Court 22 times.

We Were First UD is one of only two colleges in the country using LED boards across the scorer's table. UD has had its boards since the beginning of the season. North Carolina is the other, debuting its boards just after the holidays. (Kind of like the airplane--Started in Dayton, then used in North Carolina). The LED boards are the next step up from the now-popular rotating signs many schools use. Made by Daktronics, the 32-foot-long screen can display stationary signage, animation, and even pre-recorded video.

Flyer Faithful For years, UD has claimed it has had the best fans in the nation. In 2001, The Sporting News conducted an unscientific poll of college basketball coaches, media and SIDs. In the January 8, 2001 issue of the magazine, UD's fans were tabbed as college basketball's best. Close to 300 of the "Flyer Faithful" made the trip to Maui last season to watch UD win the Maui Invitational. Duke's Cameron Crazies got a taste in 2002-03 when about 500 Flyer fanatics followed the team to Durham, the most visiting fans at Duke in over 20 years. At Duquesne this year, UD had easily half the crowd as Pittsburgh was turning its attention to a Steelers-Jets playoff game later in the day. UD Arena has 75 sellouts in its 34-year history. UD's last 87 regular season home games have had an attendance of at least 11,000 fans. In the last 13 years, 99% of UD's home games have drawn at least 10,000 (325 of 328), including the last 125 regular season games. For the entire 2003-04 season, Dayton was ranked 25th in attendance with an average of 12,597 fans per game.

Tourney Town The NCAA Division I Tournament will make its start at UD Arena this season for the fourth year in a row. The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee has announced that the University of Dayton Arena will host the NCAA Opening Round Game in 2005 and 2006. UD has hosted the game since its inception in its current form in 2002. Dayton will also be a First and Second Round site for the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. When the 2006 NCAA Tournament is over, UD Arena will have been an NCAA site in 20 of the last 37 years and will have hosted 72 NCAA Tournament games. That will make UD Arena the third-most prolific NCAA Tournament venue behind Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City (83) and the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City (81).

Dayton to Host 2005 Las Vegas Classic The University of Dayton Arena will also serve as one of the four early-round hosts for the 2005 Las Vegas Classic on December 17 and 19. The Flyers will host two early round games before the entire eight-team field heads to Las Vegas for the final two games on December 22 and 23. The LVC is currently the only exempt tournament that guarantees four games to all of its participants. This year's field included #1-ranked Illinois and #21 UC.

Atlantic 10...Neither Atlantic, Nor 10...Discuss Amongst Yourselves The Atlantic 10 Conference will become an even less accurately-named league, but an obviously-improved conference in the 2005-06 season when Saint Louis and Charlotte join the A-10. The addition of the two schools from C-USA will bring the A-10 membership total to 14. In men's basketball, UD and Saint Louis met for the 33rd time this season, while Charlotte and the Flyers have only played each other once, in the 1977-78 season. With the additions of Charlotte and Saint Louis to the Atlantic 10 in 2005-06 season, the A-10 has adopted a new scheduling model for men's basketball. Instead of divisions, the teams will play in one 14-team league race with each school playing each other once and an additional game against three opponents. UD will play its extra games against Charlotte, Saint Louis and Xavier.

Follow UD Online All UD home and selected away regular season games can be followed live online with Gametracker. The live stats will be available along with season statistics, box scores, game stories and photos at the newly-designed www.DaytonFlyers.com.

Upcoming Schedule The winner of Wednesday's Dayton-St. Bonaventure game will advance to the A-10 quarterfinals on March 10 against the East #2 seed Temple. The winner of that game goes to Friday night's semifinals against the winner between West #1 George Washington, East #4 Fordham and West #5 Duquesne. The championship game will be Saturday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. EST. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be televised on the A-10 TV Network, and finals are on ESPN.

#1 Monty Scott • So. • F • 6-6 • 220 • Reynoldsburg, OH/Reynoldsburg HS Douglas Lamont "Monty" Scott brings athleticism and a great shooting stroke to the court for the Flyers. He leads Dayton in scoring (11.5), rebounding (4.7) and minutes (25.0). He is nearly doubling his scoring average from a year ago (6.3). He led UD in scoring (15) and rebounding (8) in the UMass win. After scoring just 11 combined points in the previous three games, he led UD in scoring in three straight games--17 points at La Salle, 12 (4-6 FG, 2-3 3-pt., 2-2 FT) in the Xavier win, and 16 at St. Bonaventure. He pulled UD to within one against X with five straight points midway in the second half. He had a career-high 25 against Duquesne, and matched it in the first La Salle game. He was named A-10 Player of the Week after La Salle. Scott had his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the Cornell win. All 10 of his points vs. Cornell came in the second half. He led the Flyers with 14 points (6-12 FG) against EKU, added 11 (4-8 FG) in the Coppin State win, and again led with 14 (and eight rebounds) at DePaul. He scored 18 (17 in the first half) in the Texas Southern win. He scored 11 vs. NW State, with nine coming in 66 seconds on three straight threes. He led all players with 16 points at Rhode Island, and had 10 points at GW. As a senior at Reynoldsburg High School in 2002, Scott was named Third Team All-Ohio Division I, averaging 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.2 blocks and 2.1 steals a game. He was named to the Columbus Dispatch Super 5, and the Columbus Suburban News Super 12. He led his team to a 19-4 record and the district finals.

#2 Brian Roberts • Fr. • G • 6-2 • 175 • Toledo, OH/St. John's HS Brian Roberts is UD's top scorer off the bench, and second overall (9.2). He has started one game--Cornell--replacing a flu-ridden Mark Jones. In the last 15 games, he has established career-bests in scoring (17 in the double OT loss to Duquesne) and rebounding (8 vs. Vanderbilt) and reached double figures ten times. He is averaging 10.1 points a game over his last ten contests. He had 13 points at GW, 14 at Temple, 10 in the X win, 15 at home vs. GW and 11 in the UMass win. He was named A-10 Rookie of the Week for the week ending December 18 after scoring a team-high and then-career-high 14 points in the Saint Louis win. He scored ten points off the bench in his college debut vs. EKU. Roberts is averaging 10.1 points a game on the road (8.8 at home). He's played 11 college games away from UD Arena, and reached double figures in five of them. In high school, Roberts was the 2004 Ohio Division I Co-Player of the Year after guiding Toledo St. John's High to the state championship game. Roberts had a 70-11 career record in his three seasons as his team's starting point guard. In addition to reaching the 2004 state finals, TSJ was ranked #5 in 2003 and #1 in the state in 2002. He was a three-time AP All-Ohio selection (honorable mention, third team, and first team in 2004).

#5 Nick Stafford • R-Fr. • F/C • 6-8 • 210 • Springfield, MA/Worcester Academy Nick Stafford brings quickness and jumping ability to the post position. So much, in fact, that he might be the best jumper ever to play center for UD. He has started 12 games this season. Stafford had a career-high matching seven rebounds vs. George Washington. He came off the bench with a huge effort in the Wyoming win. He played 24 minutes (15 more than he played previously this year) and had seven points and seven rebounds. Against UC, he had three rebounds and his first college point. He blocked two shots in 14 minutes in the TSU win. Versus Akron, Stafford had four points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in 15 minutes. He had his first career start against Duquesne. Stafford played 24 minutes with six points and five rebounds at Rhode Island. He was a unique mid-year recruit in 2003-04. A 2003 graduate of Worcester Academy, he joined the University of Dayton basketball program on December 18. After graduating in June and not getting his eligibility initially approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse, Stafford filed an appeal. When the appeal was granted, Stafford was cleared to play NCAA Division I basketball and signed with UD. Stafford was a three-year starter for Worcester Academy where he played for former Dayton assistant coach Mo Cassara. Stafford was the team captain of the 2002-03 Worcester team that went 25-4, won the New England Prep School championship, and was ranked #2 in the nation among prep schools. He averaged 10.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks a game for Worcester and shot 48% from the floor. As a junior, Stafford played alongside Craig Smith (now at Boston College) and Jarrett Jack (now at Georgia Tech).

#10 Trent Meacham • Fr. • G • 6-3 • 185 • Champaign, IL/Centennial Trenton Meacham gives the Flyers a point guard who can not only lead his team and run the offense, but be the offense, if needed. He scored a career-high 17 points and matched his personal best six assists at Temple. He also had 14 (4-5 3-pt.) at Xavier. Meacham has scored in double digits eight times this season. In the last nine games, he's averaging 8.6 points a game, shooting .540 (27-50) FG and .696 (16-23) 3-pt.. In the Fordham win, he had 10 points, a career-high six rebounds and four assists. He leads the team in FT% (.896, 43-48). He had made 25 straight free throws over 16 games until he missed his last one during the Xavier win. He has come off the bench to lead UD in assists 11 times this year, including a career-high six in the Akron win and at Temple. He is second on the team in assists (2.9). He had seven points (5-6 FT) and four assists against EKU in his first college game. Meacham and Flyer teammate Jimmy Binnie were first teammates on the Iowa-based Martin Brothers Select team. They closed out their AAU careers by leading Martin Brothers to the 2004 Senior Boys (19-and-under) AAU national championship in June. Meacham scored 33 points in the final game. The year before, they were runners-up at the AAU 17-and-under nationals. At Centennial High School in Champaign, Illinois, Meacham averaged 18.1 points, 5.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds a game as a senior. He shot 79 percent from the line, 60 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range. He was First Team All-Illinois, leading his team to 22 wins.

#11 Warren Williams • Jr. • G • 6-0 • 195 • Gaithersburg, MD/DeMatha HS Warren Williams shared UD's Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award with Marques Bennett last season, and could be considered a candidate for the same award this season. He has started all 27 games at point this season (only Williams and Monty Scott have started every game), and leads the team in assists (3.3). In A-10 games, he averaged 6.9 points and 3.6 assists. In front of the hometown fans at GW, the DeMatha grad scored a career-high 18 points (5-7 3-pt.), had seven assists, three steals and his first career block. He gave himself quite a birthday present in the first game against Richmond. On the day he turned 21, he led the Flyers in points (17) and rebounds (career-high 8), while shooting 6-8 FG, 3-5 3-pt. and 2-2 FT. A week later, he matched the 17 (5-7 FG, 3-3 3-pt., 4-5 FT) in the SJU win. He had a career-high nine assists in the La Salle win. Williams came to UD from renowned DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland where he led his team to two straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and city basketball titles. He scored 16 points in last year's Temple win.

#14 Mark Jones • Sr. • G • 6-1 • 180 • Taftville, CT/Norwich Free Academy Mark Jones ended the regular season with a team-high 15 points at Xavier. He scored 13 points (3-5 3-pt.) at La Salle, with ten coming in the second half. He's made a habit of saving his best for the most critical situations. Both of his baskets vs. UMass came as the Flyers rallied from a halftime deficit (including the hoop that gave UD its first lead of the half). Jones hit four straight free throws in the last 19 seconds in the St. Bonaventure win. He scored eight of UD's last 17 points at Rhode Island, nailing back-to-back threes and then hitting a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left. Even though he only had four points in the St. Joe win, both were critical, late-game buckets. At Vandy, he had 13 points, sharing team honors with Brian Roberts. He has missed only one start this season (Cornell, flu). He is second on the team in minutes (23.4), third in assists (1.9) and fourth in scoring (8.0). He also was named the 2004-05 winner of the Uhl Family Endowed Scholarship. The 2001 Connecticut Player of the Year, Jones is the first player from that state to play at UD. He joined UD's top fifty in scoring at La Salle, and his 871 career points currently rank 49th, 21 points behind Anthony Grant.

#15 Logan White • Jr. • G/F • 6-4 • 180 • Chagrin Falls, OH/University HS Logan White has played in four games so far in 2004-05, including two of the last three. He had a solid start to his sophomore season, but a mid-season wrist injury sidelined him for three games and hampered him longer than that. He opened the season with a career-high six points at Pepperdine and knocked down two treys for another six points in the Maui-opening win over Central Michigan. Later in the season he had five points and a career-high four rebounds in his first career start against Prairie View. After playing limited minutes in 21 games as a freshman, White played more substantial minutes (9.8 a game) in 20 games last year. White played with poise in limited action as a freshman. He made 11 of 12 free throws (.917), including two at Duke with a minute left during UD's frantic comeback there. Among his better performances were a season-high 15 minutes at George Washington, getting highs in rebounds (3) and steals (2), and coming up with two points and two assists in the GW win at home. A Third Team All-Ohio performer as a senior at University High School in Cleveland, White averaged 20.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.5 steals as a senior.

#21 Norman Plummer • Fr. • F • 6-7 • 215 • Fairfield, OH/Hargrave (VA) Military Acad. Norman Plummer was the first Flyer freshman to start a game since Tony Stanley started his very first game in 1997. After getting a total of four points and five rebounds in the first two games, he had 22 and nine in his next two. He made his first ten shots (finished 10-13 FG) and scored a career-high 24 points in the January 22 win over La Salle. He also scored 10 points at home against George Washington, and 14 (8-8 FT) at Xavier. He had 14 points in the first Richmond game. At DePaul, he had 12 points (5-7 FG), six rebounds and four steals. Against then-#24 UC, he had 10 points. He had his first double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) vs. TSU. He had 19 points in the Akron win. He is second on the team in rebounding (4.3) and minutes (23.4), and third in scoring (8.6) and FG% (.442, 84-190). Plummer came to Dayton after an impressive season at last year's prep school national champion, Hargrave Military Academy. Plummer was Hargrave's captain, leading scorer (22.8 ppg.) and rebounder (9.6 rpg.) in 2003-04. He led them to a 25-1 record and was one of eight Division I players on the team. In 2002-03, Plummer played for Brewster Academy in Brewster, New Hampshire. He averaged 26.0 points and 9.1 rebounds a game, and was the leading scorer among New England prep schools.

#22 Marques Bennett • Jr. • G/F • 6-4 • 200 • Indianapolis, IN/Brebeuf Jesuit Marques Bennett has been UD's "big-heart" player this season, playing through the pain caused by calcification around a titanium plate that was placed in his leg after he fractured it playing youth soccer. Even though he is only 6-4, he has played both forwards and even center at times for UD this season. Named the Blackburn/McCafferty MVP in the Xavier win in Dayton on February 19, he scored all five of his points in the last 38 seconds of the game, bringing UD from two down to three up. He has hit game-altering three-pointers down the stretch in three of the Flyers' A-10 wins. He scored a career-high 14 points (5-7 FG, 3-4 3-pt.) at Temple. Over his last 11 games, he is shooting .474 (9-19 from 3-pt.). He had a career-high nine rebounds and four steals against Duquesne on January 5. He is the only non-starter among the conference leaders in steals. He came off the bench to lead UD to the Coppin State win, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds. He shot four-for-four from three-point in the game. He had three key steals in the Wyoming win, including two on the Cowboy's last two meaningful possessions. He has made 22 free throws (in 31 attempts) already this season, after shooting just 3-13 from the line the entire 2003-04 season. After playing just 12 minutes in six games as a freshman, he moved into the starting lineup (starting 22 of the last 23) last year. Bennett was named co-winner (with classmate Warren Williams) of the Chris Daniels Memorial Most Improved Player Award. Bennett was also named UD's Defender of the Year. In high school, he led Brebeuf to the #2 ranking in the state before the team was upset in overtime in the state tournament.

#32 Chris Alvarez • Fr. • F/C • 6-8 • 210 • Miami, FL/Blair (NJ) Academy Chris Alvarez led Dayton with nine rebounds in the EKU game, becoming the first freshman to lead the Flyers in rebounding in an opener since Ryan Perryman did vs. Howard in 1994. Alvarez scored a career-high 12 points and added eight rebounds in the Fordham win, out-statting another freshman post player, Fordham pheenom Bryant Dunston. He scored eight points (with six rebounds) at Vanderbilt. In the Xavier win, he was UD's co-leader in rebounds (5), and also had six points. He has started the last six games. Alvarez came to UD from the powerhouse Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey. As a senior last season, he was all-state and all-league after averaging 14.3 points and 11.1 rebounds a game. The Miami, Florida, native was team captain on a team that had four other players who went on to Division I. During his junior year, Blair produced six D-I players; but Alvarez still saw 20 minutes a game. He averaged 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, but games were only part of the Chris Alvarez story in 2002-03. Every day in practice, he went up against two McDonald's All-Americas Luol Deng (who played at Duke and then was drafted by the Chicago Bulls) and Charlie Villaneuva (now at UConn).

#33 Jimmy Binnie • Fr. • F • 6-6 • 200 • Johnston, IA/Johnston Jimmy Binnie came off the bench to score 10 points in the UMass win. He scored seven in the second half, including a clutch three with the shot clock about ot expire with 1:09 left. He was UD's co-leader in rebounding in the Xavier win, grabbing five in 12 minutes. He is one of six Flyers shooting 33% or better from 3-pt. range (.380, 19-50) and is actually shooting better from three than inside the arc (.333, 11-33). He had 13 points in 16 minutes at GW. He came off the bench to drain three three-pointers in nine minutes in the first half during the Coppin State win. CSU coach "Fang" Mitchell pulled out box-and-one for Binnie in the second half. Binnie finished with nine points and seven rebounds. At Richmond, he had nine points and five rebounds. He had six points and five rebounds vs. Cornell. Binnie and point guard Trent Meacham were teammates on the Iowa-based Martin Brothers Select team. In fact, they closed out their AAU careers by leading Martin Brothers to the 2004 Senior Boys (19-under) AAU national championship in June. Binnie was named the Most Valuable Player of that tournament, putting the cherry on top of an excellent prep career. Binnie was First Team All-Iowa and the Iowa Class 4A Player of the Year after averaging 23.9 points and 8.1 rebounds a game for Johnston High School, leading his team to an 18-6 record. A deadeye shooter, he finished as Johnston's all-time leading scorer and was three-time first team all-conference. Binnie scored a school-record 45 points (regulation game) as a senior against rival Des Moines East.

#44 James Cripe • So. • C • 6-11 • 250 • Loveland, OH/Loveland HS James Cripe has had an injury-riddled season. He returned to action versus Duquesne on January 5 after missing seven straight games with a bruised hamstring. When he came back against Duquesne after the hamstring injury, he played 15 minutes, and scored a season-high seven points (3-3 FG, 1-1 FT). Then in the next game against Cornell, he turned his left ankle and was limited in the next two games (10 minutes, one rebound and zero points). In the St. Joe win, he played 16 minutes, with six points (including a pair of key free throws down the stretch) and two rebounds. Then in practice before Rhody, he turned his right ankle. He also missed the Rhode Island and GW games with a sprained ankle. Although he's nowhere near 100%, he has come back and been able to give the Flyers 75 minutes in the last nine games. He made his first career start and played a career-high 23 minutes in the opener vs. EKU. He played in all of last season's 32 games, averaging 8.2 minutes a game as seniors Keith Waleskowski and Sean Finn closed out their careers. Cripe averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in this role. The year he spent in transition from high school to college should serve him well, since Cripe was barely 18 when he graduated from high school (he turned 18 in May of his senior year). He also came to basketball late. He did not play organized basketball until his freshman year of high school, and he grew from 6-4 to 6-10 from his sophomore year to the beginning of his senior year. Cripe averaged 14.2 points and 7.0 rebounds as a senior at Loveland High School (near Cincinnati), his first and only season as a starter. He played in the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star game following his senior season.