In 28 years of covering University of Dayton men’s basketball, WHIO TV’s Mike Hartsock told me he’s never seen a Flyer team enter the season with this much “anticipation.”
Tuesday, UD unleashed its fury. And Ferris State wilted under it.
Ranked in both major college basketball polls (No. 21 in the AP and No. 22 in the USA Today/Coaches) for the first time since the 1967-68 season, Dayton shined to the tune of an 88-73 beatdown of the Bulldogs that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates.
The Flyers dominated from the tip – even without their best two players.
Senior Marcus Johnson and junior Chris Wright did not see action. Neither did senior Rob Lowery (still recovering from last year’s knee injury).
UD didn’t need its stars against Ferris.
Red-shirt freshman Josh Benson, a local product from Dunbar, stood out in his first uniformed performance before the Flyer Faithful. Benson forced Ferris to call a TO after back-to-back dunks, the latter an ally-oop, in the first half. Benson’s length and athleticism was an obvious edge and exhibition.
Benson finished the night with eight points and five rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
Five other Flyers scored in double-figures. It was that kind of night.
Senior Mickey Perry led the team with 16 points, while sophomore standout Chris Johnson had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Senior Kurt Huelsman added 15 points, sophomore Luke Fabrizius finished with 14 and Paul Williams tallied 11.
As a team, the Flyers shot 58-percent from the field and hit seven 3s. Defensively, UD forced 23 turnovers.
According to UD, Johnson and Wright sat out with “minor injuries.”
Dayton returns to action Monday, Nov. 9, against Northern Kentucky.
