Flyers beat their former coach, but Gregory gets another chance in 2014

There’s not a stat for screaming, yelling, coaching, prodding, encouraging, teaching or coaching. However, it would be fun to quantify just how much of all that Dayton’s Archie Miller and Georgia Tech’s Brian Gregory did Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion.

The former Flyer coach and the current one did everything they could to get their teams over the top. This was Miller’s night, though. Dayton beat Gregory and Georgia Tech 82-72 to improve to 4-0, while Gregory lost his first game of the season and his first game against his former team.

The game was about the players, but the coaching storyline can’t be ignored. Gregory, who said earlier in the week he will always have fond memories of his eight seasons in Dayton, gave out a lot of hugs in the moments before the game. He’ll get another chance next year when the Yellow Jackets visit UD Arena.

“I’ve got a great deal of respect for Coach Gregory and his staff,” Miller said. “(Georgia Tech assistant) Josh (Postorino) played at Dayton. Dayton is a special place. (Gregory) knows that. I inherited a very good situation because of his work. Two guys on our team (Matt Kavanaugh and Devin Oliver) were recruited by him. They got a great opportunity to get a great degree and play at a great school. I know they have a great deal of respect for him as well.

“It’s not fun to play this type of game if you’re him. I don’t have that same attachment. I’m just trying to beat Georgia Tech. For him, there’s a lot of emotion that goes into the game. They’re going to have a good season.”

Bad start: The Flyers played such a strong game in the final 26 minutes, it was easy to forget they trailed Georgia Tech 7-0 after the first 81 seconds and had to call a 30-second timeout to stop the run.

“It was disappointing really, to be honest,” Miller said. “I thought we were ready to play. They hit us right in the mouth quickly. It happens. But it’s a long game.”

Schedule news: Dayton announced Wednesday it will play in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament from Nov. 20-23, 2014. The tournament also includes Boston College, College of Charleston, Connecticut, George Mason, New Mexico, Texas A&M and West Virginia. All the games will be televised on the ESPN networks.

On the road: The Flyers leave Atlanta at 1:30 p.m. today to fly to Maui. They begin play in the EA Sports Maui Invitational against Gonzaga at midnight (EST) Monday. The eight teams heading to Maui are currently 28-0.

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