Feb. 14, 2009

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DAYTON, Ohio - Sophomore Chris Wright recorded team-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the University of Dayton Flyers extend their home winning streak to 18 games in a 69-63 triumph over the Richmond Spiders on Saturday night. Dayton improved to 23-3 (9-2 Atlantic 10).

Junior Kurt Huelsman tied a season-high with eight points and hauled in seven rebounds. Classmate London Warren tallied 10 points.

The Flyers outrebounded their opponent for the 19th time this season (35-31), improving to a perfect 19-0 when accomplishing that feat. Dayton also held a 13-5 advantage in second chance points.

Defensively, UD held Richmond to 20-of-50 shooting (40 percent).

Sophomore Stephen Thomas provided an early spark off the bench to get Dayton going. Although the Flyers started just 2-of-11 from the field, Thomas scored four quick points to help UD to a 10-7 lead at the 11:39 mark.

Thomas ignited UD, which converted on four of its next five attempts after the sluggish start, including back-to-back three-point plays by Wright and junior Marcus Johnson.

Following a 5-0 spurt by Richmond, Huelsman converted on a three-point play of his own to give UD a 19-15 advantage with 7:02 to play.

The Flyers also took advantage of Richmond's foul trouble after the Spiders picked up their seventh team foul with 5:57 remaining when Wright was fouled. His two foul shots put UD up 23-17.

Dayton made 9-of-12 first half free throws and went into halftime with a 31-29 lead. Wright, who posted his fifth double-double of the season, led all scorers at the break with 12 points.

The teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half. At the 15:29 mark, a Luke Fabrizius three-pointer put distance between the teams as UD went up 39-32. Moments later, a steal and two free throws by junior London Warren gave Dayton a 41-32 advantage.

Once again, foul trouble was an issue for Richmond. The Spiders picked up team foul No. 7 at the 13:20 mark, putting Warren at the line where he made a pair.

Wright stretched the lead back to double digits at the 12:13 mark on a high-flying fast break dunk and foul. The one-handed jam made it 45-35.

The Flyers stretched their lead to as many as 13 on a Mickey Perry lay-up with 11:14 remaining, but the Spiders trimmed the deficit back to just five on a three-pointer just over four minutes later. The basket was part of a 15-7 Richmond run.

After a UD timeout, Wright grabbed an offensive rebound and went up for two, putting the Flyers back up seven, 57-50.

At the 3:31 mark, Warren drove the lane and dished inside to senior Charles Little, whose two-handed flush ignited the home crowd of 13,435. His free throw on the play made it 60-53, Dayton.

Dayton sealed the game on a three-pointer by freshman Paul Williams with 1:06 to play, putting the Flyers up 65-57.

UD will be on the road for two games, starting Saturday, Feb. 21 against Saint Louis at 8 p.m. EST. WHIO-TV will broadcast the game live, and fans can also follow the live action via Gametracker by logging on to DaytonFlyers.com.