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 "They continue not only to defy a lot of odds, but they just have an
incredible toughness about them," Miller said.
Forward Dyshawn Pierre scored 20 points, and senior guard Jordan
Sibert added 15, lifting the No. 11 seeded Flyers to a 66-53 victory
over the No. 6 Providence Friars in an NCAA Tournament second-round
game on Friday at Nationwide Arena.
The Flyers (27-8), who reached the Elite Eight last season, move on
to face No. 3 seed Oklahoma (23-10) in a third-round East Regional
game on Sunday.
It will be Dayton's fifth game in eight days.
"We feel fine," said Pierre. "We have a good opportunity ahead of us
right now. We're not focused on how (many) games we've played,
really, we're just focusing on the next one coming up and getting
some rest."
Dayton played its first-round game Wednesday on its home court at
University of Dayton Arena, and it also enjoyed a pro-Flyers crowd
on Friday in Columbus, which is barely an hour drive from UD's
campus.
"It was like a home game," said Sibert. "It gave us the boost that
we needed."
Friars forward LaDontae Henton scored 18 points, and guard Jalen
Lindsey added 12 and for Providence (22-12), which shot just 39
percent.
The Friars attempted just seven free throws to Dayton's 30, of which
the Flyers made 22.
And, frustration boiled over for Providence when a technical foul
was assessed on the Friars bench with 3:42 left. Or, so it appeared.
Head coach Ed Cooley said following the game that he was just trying
to motivate his team when he slammed his chair during a timeout,
resulting in the 'T'.
"You're coaching your team. You're trying to put some emotion into
your team," Cooley said. "You know, it puts the official in a tough
spot. It was more emotion, trying to fire my team up."
Providence committed 10 turnovers in the first half, which
contributed to its slow start offensively.
"Coach told us to make them uncomfortable," said Sibert. "We
switched up defenses a lot."
Dayton was 2 of 10 from 3-point range in the first half. But, the
Flyers equaled that total of made 3s within the first four minutes
of the second half.
Consecutive 3-pointers by guard Darrell Davis and Pierre put the
Flyers ahead 44-35 with 10:21 left.
Providence, meanwhile, was struggling to put the ball in the basket
until a 3-pointer by Henton halted an 11-2 Flyers run.
[to top of second column] |
But, after the Friars pulled to within three points, Sibert drained
a 3-pointer to put Dayton ahead 47-41 with 6:08 left.
"It's rough when you're having an off night and you're rushing shots
and you can't figure out why they're not falling," Sibert said.
"When you've got people around you who believe in you, it's not that
hard to get your rhythm back."
Friars guard Kris Dunn, who came in averaging 15.8 points per game,
picked up his second foul with 17:18 remaining in the first half. He
finished with 11 points despite the early fouls.
Friday's game didn't tip-off until 10:53 p.m. EST. And, both teams
showed some fatigue early on, going a combined 3 of 23 from the
field out of the gate.
The Friars remained cold in the first half while Dayton erupted for
a 12-2 run to go ahead 14-7.
"I think our game plan was fine," Cooley said. "We were getting the
ball in front of the rim. I thought we were being pretty physical in
front of the rim. We were just missing shots."
Both teams began to heat up offensively late in the first half.
Henton tied the score 25-25 with a 3-pointer.
Dayton, which led 28-25 at halftime, was 10 of 14 from the
free-throw line in the first 20 minutes. The Friars had just one
free-throw attempt. That trend continued.
Cooley dismissed the notion of a home-court advantage for the
Flyers.
"Neutral court," he said.
NOTES: Dayton leads the all-time series 6-2. The most recent meeting
before Friday was a 68-55 Flyers victory in 1984. ... Dayton is
making its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Flyers earned the
matchup with Providence by defeating Boise State 56-55 in the First
Four at University of Dayton Arena, its home court. ... Providence
made its 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second straight.
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