Flyers Fight Back from 18 Down; Rally Falls Short
The Villanova Wildcats dodged another bullet by outlasting the Dayton Flyers 71-65 in the second round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Tip Off in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Both teams overcame second half deficits to win their opening round games. Dayton advanced to the second round of the tournament with a 63-59 win over Georgia Tech. Villanova defeated George Mason 69-68 in their first game.
First Half Notes
Offensively, the Flyers opened by shooting the 3 with limited success. Mickey Perry and Luke Febrizius found the range eventually, but others struggled. Dayton was 4 of 13 in the first half from the three and only 10 for 28 from the field.
The Flyers rely on fresh legs to power their defense; within the first four minutes of the game, all starters had spent time on the bench.
The opening of the game was sloppy. Both teams are used to be being the quickest team on the court; they struggled when faced with an opponent as quick as they are.
Each team had passes intercepted that aren't usually touched, fouls called when they got to screens late, and layups scored when help side defense was too late. Even Dayton's in-control point guard, London Warren, turned it over and had his pocket picked at midcourt.
Villanova led throughout. Dayton cut the lead to one several times but couldn't manage a tie. Late in the second half, Nova had adapted to Dayton's quickness and controlled play; they opened up a 10 point lead. Only a monster dunk by Marcus Johnson prevented a double digit halftime deficit for the Flyers.
At the half, Villanova led at the half, 37-29. Chris Wright for Dayton and Corey Fisher for Villanova led all scorers with 10 points each.
Second Half Notes
Corey Fisher continued to take it to the basket; his lean-in-and-draw-the-foul move, reminiscent of Roosevelt Chapman, Dayton's all-time leading scorer, helped Villanova build a lead and finish at game's end.
Two minutes into the second half, Villanova had doubled the halftime lead and were up by 16. But Dayton wasn't done.
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