Flyers win first NCAA Tourney game in 19 years
March 20, 2009
Posted March 20, 2009 6:23 p.m. CST
Photo by Will Hanlon
By Cory Griffin
cory.griffin@gmail.com
MINNEAPOLIS- The Dayton Flyers came out bubbling with energy in their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2004. The energy they possessed was the difference in the game, as the Dayton defense closed out the perimeter play of the West Virginia offense en route to a 68-60 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
It was the first win for UD in the NCAA Tournament since an 88-86 victory over Illinois in 1990, and seemingly is a firm sign that head coach Brian Gregory is starting to build something special with the Flyers.
"It's a big win for our team obviously to advance," Gregory said. "The reward is to play Kansas, which is fine . . . And these guys helped build a new culture in this program and take it another step and they've done it all year long. It is really pleasing to see them rewarded that way with a win today."
The win for UD came after the media all week had ripped them apart due to its lackluster end to the season last week. However, the Flyers used the week to get healthy and looked like every moment they spent since last week's loss was in preparation for this moment. Being the underdog, the "small school, small conference" team, the team didn't allow it to phase the way it prepared for this week.
"I really didn't draw much from it," senior Charles Little said. "I think we were like 4-1 in the last couple of games we played the Big East. We are not really caught up in that conference affiliation stuff. We knew when it comes down to us versus them, it is not Big East versus A-10; it is West Virginia versus Dayton. And we will take our chances with that."
Marcus Johnson quickly corrected him and reported that the team was 5-1 against the Big East in the past few years. In fact, the victory over West Virginia was the fourth straight against the country's most esteemed conference.
Going into the locker room at halftime, the Flyers were in a situation few across the country would have expected-ahead by five.
Although the Mountaineers quickly squashed a nine-point second half lead, they could never take the lead and completely steal the momentum from the Flyers. The teams battled back-and-forth the entire second half and put short runs together until the game was sealed.
With 1:12 to go and the Flyers leading 63-58, junior Kurt Huelsman grabbed his fifth board of the afternoon, and probably the biggest rebound of his career. He grabbed the offensive board while three Mountaineers challenged him, as they had been attacking the glass the entire game.
"They got a lot of second chance points and it was really keeping them in the game," Huelsman said. "Down the stretch we came up with some huge rebounds."
For the game, sophomore forward Chris Wright and his acrobatic dunks and timely shots down the stretch was a big difference for Dayton. "Superman," as he was referred to by Mickey Perry's mother from the stands when he was shooting free throws, finished with a double-double - 27 points and 10 rebounds.
His dunks down the stretch ended several momentum swings by the Mountaineers, who were trying to avenge a rough first half start.
But it wasn't just Wright and Huelsman making big plays Friday. It was the entire squad that came out to shatter West Virginia's streak of four-straight Sweet 16 appearances.
Junior guard London Warren finished with nine assists as opposed to just one turnover in the game, while senior Charles Little finished with 18 points to bring him to 990 for his career.
Defensively, the Flyers were suffocating, holding West Virginia to 37 percent from the field and 5-of-20 from 3-point range, while comparatively shooting 46 percent in the second half and 40 percent from 3-point range.
The Flyers will now stay in Minneapolis to take on No. 3 seed Kansas, the defending national champions on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
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