Flyers win against Aggies in last seconds

By: Steve Miller, Staff Writer

Taking on the Texas A&M Aggies Thursday morning as part of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament, the Flyers won their second game of the season in thrilling fashion 55-53 on a last second tip-in from junior forward Devon Scott.

Both teams’ offenses started the game slowly, with just 14 points combined coming in the game’s first 10 minutes. Dayton struggled to rebound on both ends of the court as they fell in an eight-point hole midway through the first half.

However, after a seven-point run and a few key shots in the closing minutes, UD built a 22-21 lead going into halftime.

Dayton and A&M both seemed to find a rhythm in the second half, as the offenses were more productive. Taking advantage of several defensive rebounds and turnovers, the Aggies built up a lead several minutes in, and controlled the game for much of the half.

Down 50-45 with under four minutes remaining, Dayton came storming back. The Flyers tied the game at 53 with a minute remaining after two clutch free throws from redshirt senior guard Jordan Sibert.

A&M marched down the court looking to retake the lead. Sibert blocked a layup attempt, and Scott grabbed the rebound, dishing it to sophomore point guard Scoochie Smith. With the game time less than the shot clock, Smith held the ball for the final shot, driving in for a layup with under five seconds left. The ball clanked around the rim as Scott reached up and tipped in the go-ahead bucket with 1.2 seconds remaining.

A&M took a final half-court heave, but missed off the back of the rim to give Dayton the win.

Junior forward Dyshawn Pierre led the team in scoring with 14 points and sophomore guard Kyle Davis contributed 10.

The Flyers improved to 2-0, and will face the winner of the University of Connecticut and the College of Charleston for their next tournament contest airing at 2:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2.