The Dayton Flyers are looking to get back in the winning spirit tonight at 7 p.m. against the Rhode Island Rams. With the Atlantic 10 schedule in full force, every game is of the utmost importance and this key game at UD Arena is no different.

Rhode Island lost to Xavier on the road last weekend while Dayton also lost in a heartbreaker in Philadelphia against St. Joseph's. It will be a major test of the team's focus and defensive determination in order to recover this week against the Rams.

"On Wednesday, we played pretty well against George Washington but then on Saturday evening, we just didn't play well enough," Head Coach Brian Gregory said on his Sunday morning television program.

It was a disappointing finish for the Flyers as their furious second half comeback fell just short in the closing seconds. Down by one point with the ball and 10.9 seconds to go, senior Rob Lowery's final layup attempt was blocked and St. Joseph's killed the rest of the clock to secure the tough-nosed upset.

Chris Wright provided a career-high 28 points in the contest on 12-20 shooting from the field, but remained unsatisfied with the ultimate result of Saturday's contest. "We still lost," he said following the game. "If you score 100 points and lose the game, it doesn't matter."

For the second season in a row, Rhode Island enters its contest against UD with the best scoring offense in the Atlantic 10, posting better than 78 points per contest. Their fast style of basketball, however, often leads to open shots for opposing teams, as they rank dead last in the conference by allowing opponents to shoot 45.2 percent from the field.

That does not mean everything will be easy for the Flyers offensively, though, as the Rams defense leads the league in three key categories. URI is on top of the A-10 in blocked shots per game, steals per game and turnover margin, showing their versatility within their up-tempo style.

Super-efficient senior Keith Cothran is the leading scorer for the Rams, ranking eighth in the conference with just over 16 points per contest. Senior Lamonte Ulmer is also one of the best rebounders in the A-10 while junior point guard Marquis Jones might be the best pure distributor in the conference.

All of these signs point to a difficult time ahead for the Flyers coming off their difficult road trip to Philadelphia. It was a back-and-forth affair the last time these two teams met, as the Rams prevailed in a thrilling 93-91 upset victory over the Flyers in overtime.

A monster game by Marcus Johnson last year was not enough for Dayton, even though the shifty guard nailed a three-pointer with less than 15 seconds remaining in the extra period. Rhode Island's Jones responded by weaving through traffic on the next possession, delivering the game-winning layup with no time remaining on the clock.

The shot was an instant highlight, notching the top spot on the "SportsCenter" Top-10 plays the following morning. At the time, it was the first loss in a game decided by five points or less for Dayton, and the tough defeat helped to motivate the team through the rest of the conference schedule.

"We did play hard, but we did not play well enough to deserve to win," Gregory said following last year's disappointing loss. "When you go on the road, you cannot make turnovers like we did in the first half and you have to make your free throws. It's a disappointing loss because while we didn't play well enough to deserve to win, maybe we could have stolen one."

With the hopes of returning the favor to Rhode Island, tonight's contest will be an indicator for the rest of this team's season. Their ability to recover from a difficult road loss as well as overcome the memories from last year's overtime loss will be a deciding factor against the opportunistic Rams.

"This is a team that you are going to have to play extremely well against in order to be successful," Gregory said in anticipation of tonight's home contest. "You are going to have to be very, very good offensively and defensively, too."