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Flyers falter again, drop third straight game

Duquesne’s shooters are too much to handle; Miller shoulders blame.

The University of Dayton's Matt Kavanaugh finished with 17 points and six rebounds as the Flyers fell to Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne 83-73 Wednesday night at UD Arena.

ERIK SCHELKUN The University of Dayton's Matt Kavanaugh finished with 17 points and six rebounds as the Flyers fell to Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne 83-73 Wednesday night at UD Arena.

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By Doug Harris, Staff Writer 12:55 AM Thursday, February 2, 2012

Archie Miller has spotted a lack of confidence creeping in. Fatigue from being so short-handed is a factor, too, he believes.

But the first-year University of Dayton basketball coach isn’t finding fault with his players for their troubles during their three-game slide. He believes the onus is on him to pull them out of it.

“Some guys aren’t playing as well personally as they had been playing three games ago. It has to do with commitment and effort on defense,” he said. “There’s a certain confidence level, and there are certain things you can say are the players. But right now, the guy who’s not getting it done the most is me.

“Our breakdowns defensively and the amount teams are scoring in the last (five) halves — it has to be around 50. That’s gotta come back on me. I’ve got to do a better job.”

A once-promising season continued its downward spiral in an 83-73 loss at home to Duquesne before 12,615 fans Wednesday. The Dukes shot 61 percent from the floor in the first half and 52 for the game in sending the Flyers to their third straight loss.

Kevin Dillard had 22 points and seven assists, and Matt Kavanaugh had 17 points and six rebounds for UD (14-8, 4-4 Atlantic 10).

Trailing by as many as 16 in the first half, the Flyers made the last basket of the period and went on an 11-3 run to start the second half to shave the deficit to one.

They took their first lead in more than 25 minutes at 57-55 on a pair of Chris Johnson free throws with 10:09 to go.

They rallied by producing what they’ve been lacking for most of their last three games: defensive stops. The Dukes failed to score on 14 of 16 possessions to start the second half.

But the Flyers reverted to their meek and mild ways on defense again. Leading by one, the Dukes (13-9, 4-4) went on an 11-2 surge to take control.

“When you get that many stops and get the game back even, your offense has to help you get over the top,” Miller said. “In that one run, I can’t remember the time frame of it, but we had guys that looked to me, quite frankly, like they weren’t ready to handle the pressure.”

But the bottom line is, Miller said, “We’re not good enough defensively to win a game. That’s the truth.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Next game:

Who: Dayton (14-8, 4-4) at Saint Louis (17-5, 5-3)

When: 5 p.m. Saturday

TV: Fox Sports Ohio

Radio: WHIO-AM (1290), WHIO-FM (95.7)

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