Flyers oust Rebels in NIT semis.
March 30, 2010
By Nate WaggenspackPhoto by Ryan Kozelka
Dayton's season will end this week, but the Flyers have made sure that it does so on their terms.
Chris Johnson turned in a beginning-of-the-season performance with 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Dayton to a 68-63 win over the No. 2 seed Ole Miss Runnin' Rebels.
It was an impressive performance from the Flyers, who did not heave the stroke from the three point line that they had enjoyed in wins over Cincinnati and Illinois, but did enough on defense to win anyway.
The Rebels came into Tuesday's contest averaging over 78 points per game, but they fell 15 short of that, shooting 33.9 percent for the game.
Chris Johnson was the bigger difference in the game, however, as the sophomore hit seven of nine free throw attempts and went 2-2 from downtown in the second half.
"It seemed like the hoop was the size of the backboard," teammate Chris Wright said of Johnson's performance. "He was knocking them down."
The Flyers trailed for just a few minutes in the game, taking a 2-0 lead to start. Mississippi was able to pull within one multiple times in the second half, but never got over the hump.
A play reminiscent of Dayton's loss to Xavier occurred in the final two minutes of the game when Mississippi's Reginald Buckner got tied up with Chris Johnson and then threw an elbow, drawing a technical foul. Chris Johnson knocked down both free throws and UD got the ball, driving a wedge into Ole Miss' comeback hopes.
Marcus Johnson scored 12 points for Dayton on 4-7 shooting, his third straight game in double figures.
Dayton's out-of-nowhere run through the NIT will now continue in the championship game Thursday, where they will meet the winner of Rhode Island and North Carolina for the title.
"I think we've shown we have a lot of character," Chris Johnson said. "We know we could have easily given up...we have an opportunity to still do something special here at the NIT."
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