When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: UD Arena
TV/Radio: Time Warner Ch. 1311 and 311/WHIO 95.7, 1290
Dayton starters
- Kevin Dillard, 6-0, Sr., G, 15.2 ppg.
- Vee Sanford, 6-3, Jr., G, 12.9
- Josh Benson, 6-9, Sr., F, 10.2
- Devin Oliver, 6-7, Jr., F, 9.7
- Dyshawn Pierre, 6-6, Fr., F, 7.6
Duquesne starters
- Derrick Colter, 5-11, Fr., G, 13.4
- Sean Johnson, 6-1, Sr., G, 13.6
- Jerry Jones, 6-4, Jr., G, 8.4
- Martins Abele, 7-1, Jr., C, 3.2
- Kadeem Pantophlet, 6-7, So., F, 5.1
About Dayton
The Flyers are coming off a 96-51 win over Fordham, their largest victory margin in any conference game since the program left the ranks of indepenents in 1988-89. They were 15-of-21 on 3-pointers, tying the all-time school mark for 3’s in a game. Their 71.4-percent marksmanship was their best rate ever when taking at least 10 attempts. The only better clip was a 6-for-8 effort against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 6, 1997. … The ball-handling of the starting guards was much improved. Dillard had eight assists and one turnover and Sanford six assists and no turnovers. In the first three conference games, Dillard had eight and 13 of each and Sanford six and 14. … The Flyers are second in the A-10 with a plus-5.6 rebounding margin per game and are plus-49 overall against four league foes.
About Duquesne
Coach Jim Ferry inherited a major rebuilding job after replacing the fired Ron Everhart, who went 98-88 in six seasons. T.J. McConnell (Arizona), Mike Tally (Eastern Michigan) and Danny Herrera (Miami Dade junior college) all transferred. McConnell was the 2011 A-10 rookie of the year. The Dukes also graduated a pair of 1,000-point scorers in B.J. Monteiro and Eric Evans. And two Everhart recruits opted out of their letters-of-intent. They were picked last in the A-10 preseason poll. Their league record, though, may be deceiving. They’ve already played four of the top five teams in the poll. And they beat West Virginia in the non-league season.
Miller time
“This is another opportunity to play at home, and those are special opportunities when you’re in conference play,” UD coach Archie Miller said. “It’s very difficult — in particular in this league and during this season — to go on the road and get a win. I think everyone will start to see that as the season plays out. Home court is something we have to take great pride in.
“If we don’t bring it and aren’t ready and we’re sloppy, teams can come in here and beat us. It’s up for us to set the tone that these opportunities at home, you can’t take them for granted. They’re very important.”
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