NIT Update
By Nate Waggenspack
Photos By Ryan Kozelka
Click here to see pictures from immediately after the game!
Click here to see the flyers cut down the net!
"A great way to go out," Kurt Huelsman said.
"Yeah, it was a great way to go out for our seven seniors," London Warren said.
"Winning this tournament, Madison Square Garden against North Carolina, it doesn't get any better than that," Marcus Johnson said.
The words of Dayton's three team captains after their NIT Championship echoed the sentiments of the entire team after the game during the postgame celebration of their win.
The Dayton players danced around the court for a bit to a chorus of cheers from Dayton fans before taking pictures, as senior Rob Lowery yelled "I want a ring!" into the camera.
Next came the All-Tournament team awards, where Marcus Johnson and Chris Johnson were honored, the latter give Most Outstanding Player honors.
Finally the ring and trophy presentation came, when each player was given his ring and the team its trophy.
Finally, it was time to cut down the nets. One by one the players climbed the ladder set up in Madison Square Garden to cut off a piece of the net on one of the hoops that they filled up en route to two wins in New York City.
While players were waiting for their turn they continued to dance and joke with teammates and others on the court, including Athletic Director Tim Wabler. Warren could hardly keep still, bouncing from reporter to reporter and teammate to teammate.
Several players cut off their piece and raised it to the sky, to raucous applause from the Flyer faithful in attendance. Chris Wright took things a step further and stuck his piece of net between his nose and mouth and wore it like a moustache.
Finally it was time for head coach Brian Gregory to finish the job. The general of the Flyers cut the net down and pumped his fist high into the air several times in excitement. It was the final symbol of Dayton's fantastic run through the NIT.
For Gregory, it was a great way to tribute his seniors in their final game.
"We're fortunate, we've built a good program in the right way," he said. "Those guys [the seniors] are the foundation of that."
By Nate Waggenspack
Marcus Johnson said going out on a high note was important, and he made sure he and his fellow seniors did just that.
Johnson scored 20 points to lead Dayton to a 79-68 NIT championship win over North Carolina Thursday, April 1. Chris Johnson added 14 points and nine rebounds and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
After a stellar first half in which had the Flyers up 45-32 and on fire (58.1 percent field goals), UNC was able to mount a comeback in the second half and make things closer. The Tar Heels made a 12-1 run in the first 3:20 of the second half to make it just a two point Dayton lead. Marcus Johnson was able to hit a three on the ensuing possession, however, and keep UD in the lead, where they would stay for the rest of the game.
The Flyers finished the season on a five-game win streak, during which they refused to lose and dominated their demons from the regular season. In January, a run like North Carolina made would have been more difficult for Dayton to respond to. In this game, it came naturally.
"We played exactly the way we wanted to play," senior Kurt Huelsman said.
Huelsman is another part of the class of seniors that have now won 94 games in their careers-tying them for the most ever by a UD class with the group from 1955.
Winning the NIT served as a bit of redemption for the Flyers, who did not achieve their goals for much of the regular season, but put those things behind them after a devastating A-10 Tournament loss to Xavier.
"Our guys were upset, they didn't accomplish what they wanted to during the year," head coach Brian Gregory said. "They didn't cry about it or point fingers, they just rallied together and said 'Okay, we have another opportunity and a great way to go out.'"
Will Graves hit seven three pointers and scored 25 points to lead all scorers, but it was not enough to keep Dayton down, who got double-digit performances out of four players.
Perhaps the most important of those performances was Paul Williams'. Williams came in the first half after Chris Johnson suffered a hip-pointer, and went 4-5 from the field, including three 3-pointers, to go for 11 first half points. The sophomore finished with 16.
"CJ stepped out, somebody's got to step up," Williams said. "It's our last game. We had to leave it on the court. If we didn't win this game, we'd be in the locker room right now.
Late in the second half with the game still very much in doubt Dayton was able to stifle North Carolina's hopes at victory with a layup by Chris Johnson and then a four straight free throws by Williams and Chris Johnson. That put Dayton up 11 and allowed Dan Fox and Luke Hendrick to come into the game to dribble out the championship.
Click here for a photo gallery of the second half of this game! Photos by Ryan Kozelka
Click here for a photo gallery of the first half of this game! Photos by Ryan Kozelka
London Warren will be held out of the starting lineup tonight due to a violating a team rule.
Rob Lowery will start in his place.
