Towson at Dayton: Second Half
November 28, 2009
For 30 minutes of Dayton's game against Towson, the Flyer's shooting was hopeless. Their defense was hopeless. Towson couldn't miss from beyond the arc. Even the UD Arena crowd was despondent.
In the final ten, however, Dayton turned it on and never looked back en route to a stunning comeback victory, 74-69.
The Flyers also earned a school record in the win. Dayton scrambled back to win its 22nd straight home game to break the previous mark.
Halftime adjustments had not seemed to work as Towson was able to push its lead out to as many as 18 points at one point in the half. All of a sudden however, the Flyers imposed their will, especially on the defensive end, and came back strong.
The teams started the half mostly trading baskets, and the Dayton deficit stayed around ten points for the early-going. Every time Dayton looked to make a run, Towson had an answer, usually in the form of a 3-pointer.
Rashawn Polk made a layp with just over 13 minutes left to push Towson's advantage to 56-43, and Dayton could not find the basket at the offensiveend.
Towson's three point shooting continued to be the key to the game, as the Tigers were hitting just about every shot they took. Dayton's defense was unable to get out and contest many of the shots however, making them much easier buckets for the Tigers.
Down 64-46, the Flyers hit on two consecutive trips down the court to get within 14 and ignite the Dayton crowd for the first time in the second half. The defense forced up a bad shot and Dayton looked to be in business.
After a missed three (finally) from Towson, Marcus Johnson soared for the rebound and then took the ball the length of the court for a layup and the foul. He hit the free throw and Towson's lead was back down to nine. Tigers coach Pat Kennedy called a timeout and UD Arena erupted.
Just a minute later the lead was down to five at 66-61 on consecutive threes by Mickey Perry and Chris Johnson and Towson had to use another timeout with 6:28 left.
Perry hit another three with 4:06 left to bring Dayton with four and then Marcus Johnson drew an offensive foul to give the ball back to the Flyers going into the final media timeout.
Paul Williams penetrated and found Chris Wright for a dunk to make the score 69-67 Towson with just under 3 minutes to play. Towson then turned it over and Dayton took advantage.
Chris Johnson hit a three off a kickout from Perry with 1:15 left to put Dayton ahead 70-69. It was the Flyers' first lead since the score was 27-26 in with 6:10 to play in the first half.
Paul Williams then hit another three with 31 seconds left after another Dayton defensive stop to put UD up four.
Josh Thornton's hot streak from the three point line did not last in the second half, as he missed a long bomb with about 15 seconds left and Williams was able to scrum for the rebound and hit a free throw to seal the deal.
All in all, it was a 28-5 run to close the game's final 9 minutes, 38 seconds.
Chris Wright led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Johnson added 12 points of his own, including nine in the second half.
Comments
No Comments
You have to be logged in to post a comment
