Flyers show offensive arsenal in 2nd half in comeback win; Big test vs Butler awaits; Headed for Top 25?

Coach Anthony Grant looks to take Flyers back to Top 25 

In trailing against Purdue-Fort Wayne early in the 2nd half (55-50) in the newly remodeled UD Arena, there was a sense of when, as opposed to if, the Dayton Flyers would take over the game.

They would, midway throught the 2nd half, after going on a 41-25 run spanning the latter portion of the game.

But the real nugget about the 2nd half for the Flyers?

A complete team effort (5 players in double figures), which was led by the adjustments made by Anthony Grant and the staff, which helped lead the Dayton Flyers to a big 91-80 comeback win over a feisty Purdue Fort Wayne squad.

Senior Big Man Josh Cunningham led all the scorers with 20 points and 8 boards, and was dominant in the 2nd half of the game, as he threw down a couple of monstrous dunks and was able to hold it down inside all night.

Purdue Fort Wayne, which hit 10 3's in the first half, was only 3-12 in the 2nd half, and their overall shooting took a dip as well, as the Flyers bigger, strong defenders and deep bench proved too much.

Kason Harrell was on fire early, with 13 on 3 3-ptrs, but cooled off in the 2nd half for Purdue Fort Wayne.

NBA prospect Junior G Trey Landers dropped 15, while Jordan Davis added 10 for the Flyers and with the connection with rising PG Jalen Crutcher (18pts, 7assists) on a couple of sweet plays, shows that when Clicking on all cylinders?  Could be a top 25 team.

Obi Toppin, the talented 6'11 big man who has NBA lottery ability, threw down 2 thunderous dunks and a big block which help change the game. Toppin had been the leading scorer coming into the contest.

With the win Dayton moves to 3-0 on the season.

Coach Grant was pleased with his teams effort, and feels like his bench was huge, particularly Ryan Mikesell (10pts) and Jhery Matos, in the turnaround of the 2nd half.

The Flyers are headed to the Bahamas to take on Butler (3-0) in the Atlantis Classic. That will be a good test to see how good the Flyers are in this early season.

Mens, Womens Raiders hoop teams go for NCAA Berth

In what has been one of the great years for Wright State basketball, the men's and the women's team will compete for a chance at a NCAA tournament berth tonight.

The women's team was able to reach the championship game by defeating the #2 seed 60-52. The Lady Raiders had a huge winning streak during the season and looks like they have all the tools to reach the tournament. They will be taking on the top seed today (noon).

The men defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee as Loundon Love led the Raiders along with Grant Benzinger (son of Former Cincinnati Red Grant Benzinger).

That duo has been unstoppable, and the writers will face Cleveland State, who was in 8th seed. The Vikings have Evan Claiborne, the former Dunbar Wolverine who will be playing in the game.

This has to be an exciting time for Raider Nation, as Wright State could potentially have both teams in the tournament, and legitimately so, as both teams have heck of a season.

The men's team have set a record for most wins (24), and the women's team for the winning streak that they had during the season.
Both teams are well-coached (Merriweather & Nagy) and this shows that Athletic Director Bob Grant knows exactly what he's doing.

Could this be the year of the Raiders in the Horizon League?

Don't be suprised.  Tune in today!

#RaiderUp

Week in Review: Flyers storm back behind Antetokounmpo, Landers, stop St. Louis; Then fall to Rhode Island after 2nd half surge

Could Kostas Antetokounmpo be the wild card for Flyers?

If the Dayton Flyers are going to make any March Madness noise this season, the game against the Billikens might be the one that changed the tone of the season for the Flyers.

 Dayton trailed by as many as 13 in the game before rallying in the 2nd half to knock off St. Louis 53-50 before a big home crowd in a nationally televised game.

 With the arrival of 6'11 big Kostas Antetokuonmpo, the younger bro of All-Star Giannis of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Flyers could be a sleeper team come A-10 Tourney time. He scored 12 points, with 4 boards and some key blocked shots and interior defense which was huge, as St. Louis tried to pound it inside all night.

While the offense wasn't great, it was  a nice sight to see the highly touted Antetokuompo be able to have a major impact on the floor.

 Flyers Head Coach Anthony Grant had talked about his energy, his vibe coming into the game.
"He knew he would have to be aggressive against a physical team like St. Louis. They beat us up last game, so he was mentally ready this game.

If Antetokounmpo can contine to have that type of energy and presence, the Flyers could make a run for a A-10 tournament title.

Star Players: Kostas Antetokounmpo, Josh Cunningham

#18 Rhode Island rolls past UD after 2nd half surge 

Despite losing by a wide margin at Rhode Island Friday, the Flyers showed a little promise. It featured a first half that saw the Flyers go toe to toe with the A-10 Regular Season Champs.

If the Flyers can find a silver lining?
Rhode Island won't be playing the A-10 Championship at home. And Grant knows that anything can happen in March.

The Flyers committed 13 turnovers in the 1st half against the Rams, and still was only down 2.
However Rhode Island came out firing in the 2nd half, and went on a 21-8 run to push the lead to 15 (57-42) in which they would never look back.

Trey Landers dropped a double double (10 pts,10 reb) in the loss while Freshman PG Jalen Crutcher added 12 to lead the Flyers in the loss. Kostas Antetokounmpo had 8pts, 4 boards, and 2 blocks in 25 minutes of play.

If Landers and Cunningham can keep producing, the addition of Antetokoumpo and maybe a Xeryius Williams to the frontcourt rotation could be huge come tourney time.

Flyers now go to 1-9 on the road as they take on LaSalle Wednesday before finishing its final home game this weekend.

Star Players:  Jalen Crutcher, Trey Landers

Top photos of the Week:

Classic VIdeo: Dayton Flyers Biggest Fan Contest (Featuring Trey Landers) Week 1

When brought to his attention that University of Dayton Sophmore F Trey Landers would be meeting his biggest fan during the taping of S.E.Live! 365 (College Edition), Landers was surprised and intrigued.



We had the privy of bringing Landers on our weekly sports show SportsEffectLive 365 after his great play in recent weeks.  At the end, Landers had a host of fans who were dying to meet the high rising hooper from Wayne.



Check out the great battle for Landers Biggest fan! MUST SEE TV as 2 ladies go at it!







The full episode of the Trey Landers Inteview will air on Friday on DaytonHighSchoolSports.com



S.E.Live! 365 TV show will tape every week at Romer's Bar & Gill, with Deon Cash,  Former Flyers Cain Doliboa and Nate Green co-hosting the show. The trio will talk college sports and feature the best athletes, business owners, fitness brands, and fashion experts in Southwest Ohio.



Romers also will be announcing the Flyers Biggest Fan contest, which will conclude at the end of March.





NOTE:

The S.E.Live365 APP will be available in February, which will become the primary location for all the S.E.Live 365-College Edition Episodes.







more info?



Instagram:  SportsEffectLive

Facebook: SportsEffectLive Fan Page

Twitter:  TheSportsEffect

Cooke leads Flyers past Bama; Alstork nearly nets triple double vs Redhawks; Kennard shines in loss

Here's the recap of what happened with the local basketball colleges and the stars last week:

Leading scorer in the country (Mark Alstork) delivering for the Raiders

COOKE leads FLYERS to big win @ Alabama
  Charles Cooke saved his best for last as he put on a offensive display for the Flyers to lead them to win at Alabama. Alabama, led by former NBA Champion Avery Johnson at coach, fought and was up heading into final stretch.

However Cooke and the Flyers hit some huge buckets to seal the deal, and the Flyers move to 2-0 on the season.
  Cooke, who is a legitimate All-American contender,
entered the draft last season, but decided to come back.



Alstork leads RAIDERS to a last second win vs MIAMI
  Former Thurgood Marshall Cougar and current star for Wright State Mark Alstork dropped 29 points as they needed all of them to get past Miami 89-87.
  Miami clawed their way to a lead late in the game, 82-80, but Alstork and the Raiders hit some key buckets down the stretch and made just enough free throws to seal the deal.
 Alstork was 2 assists away from a triple double as he filled up the Stat sheet. (29 pts, 10 rebs, 8 assists)

  The game was thrilling, and the Redhawks looked that they would sneak a victory at the Nutter Center.
The Raiders stayed calm and although they missed a few FTs late, they were able to seal the deal.
 Raiders move to 2-0 on the season.

Kennard leads DUKE in loss against KANSAS

  Franklin grad and DUKE guard Luke Kennard scored 22 points in a 2-point loss to KANSAS (79-77).
Kennard looked sharp and confident in his ability, and quite honestly, was the best player on the court for the Blue Devils, who started the season #1.

 Kansas All-American candidate Frank Mason hit a last second shot to defeat Duke.

 Kennard looked sharp in the outing, and was the most consistent player in the game for the #1 ranked Blue Devils.

   With all the talk about if Kennard would be in the rotation after the major recruiting class, that talk needs to be put to bed; Kennard has been the most consistent player on the roster this season.

    From the looks of it, Kennard will be counted on heavily to help the Blue Devils try to reach a national title.

 

Former C-J star leads Hokies to victory over #4 Virginia

Former Chaminade-Julienne star and Super Soph Justin Bibbs  dropped four huge bombs and had 16 key points as the Virginia Tech Hokies upset 4th ranked Virginia.

Bibbs setting up for 3-ball vs Virginia

   Bibbs was on from deep all night, and helped combat the offensive wizardry from Virginia G London Perrentes, who was on target all night as well.

  Bibbs, who was on the USA Under-20 Olympic team, looks to be shaping into the dynamic guard Hokies coach Buzz Williams coveted when he was able to keep Bibbs from decommitting and possibly heading back north.
  Bibbs, who is 6'7, can play 3 positions, has a deadly J, is a left-hander, is as athletic as any wing and loves to play D?

       Fits the Buzz Williams mold just right.

  When Bibbs was a Sophomore he led the Eagles to a deep showing in the Ohio HS Bball Tournament.
 
      Then, in a suprise twist, he hit the prep school circuit, playing with the likes of D'Angelo Russell (Lakers) & Ben Simmons (LSU Star), as they won a National Championship at powerhouse Montverde Prep in Florida.

  He then chose the Hokies, after careful consideration from a host of mid major powers, including Dayton.
 
  After being on the All-ACC Freshman team last season, Bibbs could be headed for bigger things.
  Watch out ACC.