Sunday, January 5, 2003

Dayton 92, No. 13 Marquette 85 OT


Flyers surprise Eagles

By James Hannah
The Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - Ramon Marshall and Keith Waleskowski made sure No. 13 Marquette stayed winless on the road this season.

Marshall scored 23 points and Waleskowski hit a clutch 3-pointer in overtime to lead Dayton to a 92-85 victory over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.

Marquette (8-3) has lost all three road games this year, including one Tuesday night at East Carolina.

"They were struggling on the road, and we were not going to let them get well here," said Waleskowski, who had 15 points and eight rebounds. "Coach kept referring to this game as a war, and it was a war. We knew coming in that we were going to have to battle for 40 minutes, and we battled for 45."

With Dayton (8-3) leading 83-80 and one minute left in overtime, the 6-foot-9 Waleskowski, who had tied the game at the end of regulation, hit the 3 that gave the Flyers a six-point lead.

Baskets by Travis Diener and Todd Townsend cut the lead to two, but Marquette was forced to foul and the Flyers sealed the win at the free throw line.

Marquette lead 78-77 with eight seconds left in regulation when Waleskowski was fouled going to the basket and made one free throw to tie the game.

Marquette had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Dwyane Wade lost control of the ball as he tried to shoot.

Marshall, a 6-1 guard, was 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc and 8-of-14 overall.

Center Robert Jackson lead the Golden Eagles with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting.

"There was that 'home-court advantage,' and they made big shots," Jackson said of the Flyers. "Then the crowd got in it, and that's just kind of how the game went."

Wade, a 6-5 guard who had been averaging 24.9 points a game, missed his first five shots and scored four points in the first half. Wade finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

"I was missing layups early," Wade said. "The coaches just told me to keep shooting."

Scott Merritt had 16 points, Townsend added 11 and Diener had 10 for Marquette.

D.J. Stelly scored 18 points for the Flyers and Brooks Hall had 13.

Dayton had trouble getting the ball inside against Marquette, but the Flyers shot 48 percent from the field and hit 14 3-pointers.

"They were just on fire," Marquette coach Tom Crean said of the Flyers. "Three-point shooting is infectious. They made some tough shots, and some were not so tough."

With Dayton leading 30-17 with 9:55 left in the first half, Marquette went on a 9-0 run. But Hall and Marshall hit 3-pointers and the Flyers led 48-38 at halftime.

Marquette went on 8-0 run early in the second half to cut the lead to 50-47 and took a 60-59 lead with 11:36 left on a 3-pointer by Diener.

"You have to give Marquette credit," Dayton coach Oliver Purnell said. "They are a tough-nosed team playing on a tough away court today. They did not back down."

MARQUETTE (8-3)-Townsend 4-7 0-1 11, Merritt 6-11 4-5 16, Jackson 8-9 3-5 19, Wade 8-23 1-2 17, Diener 4-15 0-0 10, Novak 0-0 0-0 0, Chapman 2-4 1-2 5, Grimm 1-3 2-2 4, Sanders 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 34-75 12-19 85.

DAYTON (8-3)-Hall 4-12 4-4 13, Waleskowski 3-5 7-10 15, Finn 2-2 0-1 4, Marshall 8-14 2-2 23, Jones 3-8 0-0 9, Stelly 5-11 5-6 18, Green 3-7 2-4 8, Williams 1-1 0-0 2, Iguodala 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 29-61 20-29 92.

Halftime-Dayton 48, Marquette 38. Regulation-78-78. 3-point goals-Marquette 5-15 (Townsend 3-5, Diener 2-8, Chapman 0-2), Dayton 14-33 (Marshall 5-7, Jones 3-7, Stelly 3-9, Waleskowski 2-3, Hall 1-7). Fouled out-Merritt, Jackson. Rebounds-Marquette 41 (Wade 10), Dayton 40 (Hall 12). Assists-Marquette 20 (Diener 7), Dayton 18 (Marshall 8). Total fouls-Marquette 23, Dayton 16. A-12,037.