Jan. 6, 2009
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
DAYTON, Ohio -- A 6-0 Dayton run late in the second half provided just enough cushion for the Flyers to defeat Miami 45-40 Tuesday night at UD Arena.
Freshman Julian Mavunga topped double figures for the first time in his career with 12 points on 5of-7 shooting to lead the RedHawks. Tyler Dierkers was the next highest scorer with just eight points, while Michael Bramos tallied six points. Dayton, 14-1 after its sixth straight win, was led by a pair in double figures -- Chris Wright with 14 and Charles Little with 12.
Dayton trailed 36-35 with 5:30 to play when it tallied three straight baskets to open its biggest lead of the game, 41-36 with 2:34 left. Little started the surge with a rebound layup at the 4:31 mark, then hit a jumper in the paint with 3:34 left. Wright converted a layup with 2:37 left to cap the run.
Miami tried to rally behind four points from Mavunga in the final 52 seconds, but the Flyers were able to answer each time.
Miami trailed 6-4 in the first four minutes before scoring seven straight points for an 11-6 lead, tied for the largest of the game. Dierkers hit a three-pointer around a pair of inside baskets by Muvunga, but the Flyers retook the lead 13-11 with a 7-0 run of their own.
Eric Pollitz hit a free throw and Rodney Haddix was the beneficiary of a goaltending call that pushed Miami ahead before a Dayton layup put the Flyers back up by one, 15-14 with 5:46 remaining in the period. Neither team scored again until Adam Fletcher hit one of two free throws at the 1:12 mark to tie the score.
Miami begins Mid-American Conference play on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. when it hosts Akron in the second game of a women's and men's basketball doubleheader with the women's game set for 2 p.m. Both games will be televised on ONN.
Notes: Carl Richburg led the RedHawks in rebounding with a career-high seven boards ... Julian Mavunga's 12 points doubled his previous game-best sum ... Mavugna scored eight of his points in the second half and played a season-high 24 minutes ... although Miami had 13 turnovers for the game, Miami committed just three turnovers in the second half.
