The schedule is often designed to feature a winnable game on opening night. Bucky Albers, the former UD beat writer for the Dayton Daily News, summed it up best before the 1997 opener against Murray State when UD lost its season opener at home for the first time in decades.
“Over the years, the University of Dayton has had opening night basketball opponents who — with a few exceptions — were straight out of the Betty Crocker cookbook,” Albers wrote. “In other words, they were cupcakes. Some of those cupcakes nearly spoiled the Flyers’ coming out party, but none of them has been victorious since Central Missouri State dumped Dayton in the first game at UD Fieldhouse in 1950.
Here’s a look back at 15 season openers to remember from the past 50 years through excerpts of the game stories from the Dayton Daily News:
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
1. Nov. 9, 2013: Dayton 81, IPFW 80
Headline: Last-second 3-pointer wins opener.
Summary: In his first game as a Flyer, Jordan Sibert set the tone for a memorable career as the Flyers avoided a loss that might have kept them out of the NCAA tournament.
What David Jablonski wrote: Jordan Sibert had never hit a shot like this. Not when he was 5. Not when he was a senior at Cincinnati Princeton High School. Not when he was a freshman with the Buckeyes.
Even in his dreams — and he had a lot of time to think, sitting on the bench last season after transferring from Ohio State — Sibert didn’t imagine his Dayton career starting like this. His 3-pointer with one second left gave the Flyers an 81-80 victory over IPFW at UD Arena in the season opener for both teams.
Fans with their arms crossed across their chests seconds before, silently contemplating a devastating start to the season, found themselves on their feet marveling at November Madness as Sibert’s shot dropped through the net.
“I did want to move the crowd,” Sibert said. “That’s what we apparently were able to do. I give the credit to my teammates for that play. My shot was good, but the effort my teammates gave was great.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
2. Nov. 10, 2017: Dayton 78, Ball State 77
Headline: Flyers beat Ball State at buzzer.
Summary: In his first game as head coach, Anthony Grant avoided a disaster.
What Jablonski wrote: Josh Cunningham watched his winning shot for the first time on a reporter’s cell phone seconds after completing a post-game interview. It won’t be the last time he sees it. This one will play on repeat for years in the mind of Cunningham and for everyone in the sellout crowd of 13,350 at UD Arena.
This wasn’t The Shot by Ed Young or The Kiss By Vee Sanford. Considering the circumstances, however, The Lob will go down in the Dayton Flyers record book as one of the most memorable last-second baskets in school history.
“I didn’t panic,” said Cunningham, a redshirt junior forward who’s Dayton’s lone captain. “I’ve seen big moments like this happen before. You can’t panic. When you panic, that’s when things start to go the wrong way. You’ve got to stay calm and execute what the play is.”
Cunningham’s shot with 0.1 seconds to play beat Ball State 78-77 at UD Arena.
Credit: HANDOUT
Credit: HANDOUT
3. Dec. 6, 1969: Dayton 72, Bowling Green 70.
Headline: An old play works for UD.
Summary: Dayton wins a close one in the first game in UD Arena history.
What Hal McCoy wrote: Dayton’s Flyers put a new twist on the old saying, “Charity begins at home.”
A new home began with charity Saturday night as the new University of Dayton Arena opened before 13,430 fans.
The Flyers’ first game in their new edifice turned into a charity affair as UD used six straight free throws — and no baskets — in the final two minutes to put down pesky Bowling Green, 72-70.
And, the Flyers themselves were in a charitable mood toward their somewhat awed guests toward the finish in the opening game for both teams.
George Janky, who was Faith, Hope and Charity all wrapped into one for the Flyers, sank two free throws with 29 seconds left and UD led, 72-68.
4. Nov. 20, 2000: Dayton 80, Connecticut 66
Headline: UD surprises No. 13 UConn.
Summary: Dayton’s success in four Maui Invitational appearances (a 9-3 record in 2000, 2003, 2013 and 2019) started in its first game.
What Bucky Albers wrote: After looking at videotape of Connecticut’s season-opening victory over Quinnipiac, the University of Dayton Flyers believed they could beat the 13th-ranked Huskies.
On Monday, in front of 2,500 spectators in sauna-like heat at the Lahaina Civic Center, the Flyers proved their point by thoroughly outplaying UConn en route to an 80-66 triumph in the 17th Maui Invitational.
In doing so, Dayton earned a date with No. 1-ranked Arizona.
The Flyers are convinced that they can compete with the Wildcats, but there is a sobering statistic in the UD media guide. This will be only the 13th time UD has played a team ranked No. 1 in the country by The Associated Press, and the Flyers were able to win on only two of the first 12 occasions. Dayton is winless in nine games against No. 1s during the last 40 years.
That doesn't take anything away from Monday's stunning upset of the Huskies.
The biggest question mark about this year's UD team was how well its undersized post players would fare against taller, stronger opponents. Yuanta Holland, Nate Green and Keith Waleskowski answered that question with solid performances against UConn.
The 6-foot-7 Holland, playing a sensational game, scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed six rebounds.
"Yuanta stepped up big time," guard David Morris said. "He's a prime-time player."
5. Nov. 21, 2004: Eastern Kentucky 73, Dayton 66
Headline: Flyers sputter in home opener.
Summary: This was Dayton’s most recent loss in a season opener.
What Albers wrote: In the season opener against Eastern Kentucky on Sunday afternoon, the University of Dayton Flyers put on a perfect demonstration of why young basketball teams have difficulty winning games.
Outplayed on both ends of the court by a wiser, more experienced team, Dayton went down to a 73-66 defeat in front of 12,254 spectators at UD Arena.
The Colonels from Richmond, Ky., handcuffed the Flyers with aggressive defensive work on the perimeter and produced more than a dozen open jump shots with excellent ball movement. That enabled them to deal Dayton only its second defeat in the 29 times the opener was played at UD Arena. Another Ohio Valley Conference school, Murray State, administered the only other loss in 1997. That UD team went on to win 21 games; this one may have difficulty winning half that many.
”I think every game is going to be a battle,” UD Coach Brian Gregory said, adding that every Dayton opponent will have an edge in muscle or experience.
UD has opened many seasons against a cream puff opponent, but EKU clearly did not fit that description. While the Colonels have added seven new players since producing a 14-15 record last season, three of them are junior college transfers who were in Sunday’s starting lineup — center Alonzo Hird, forward Zach Ingles and guard Jason McLeish.
The trio joined junior guard Matt Witt and senior forward Michael Haney in producing a comfortable victory. Witt, the 6-foot former Bethel High School scoring machine, scored 17 points and handed out five assists while keeping constant pressure on the UD defense with his quickness, ball-handling ability and court awareness. Haney, a sturdy and elusive 6-6 senior, produced 20 points by making 7 of 10 shots and all six of his free throws. He also collected a team-high eight rebounds.
6. Nov. 22, 1985: Tulsa 63, Dayton 60 (OT)
Headline: Flyers get the jump, but Tulsa gets the victory.
Summary: The last winning season of the Don Donoher era started with a loss to a Tulsa team that finished 23-9 and played in the NCAA tournament.
What we wrote: The jump ball is not one of Dayton’s basketball strengths.
In preseason, UD Coach Don Donoher asked the Flyers, “Is there anybody here who thinks he can win one jump ball?”
No one raised a hand.
Friday night, the Flyers won a jump ball and it cost them the game.
This Hitchcockian twist happened in Tulsa’s 63-60 overtime victory over UD in the first round of the Big Apple NIT before 10,416 at Riverfront Coliseum.
Because Tulsa center Anthony Fobbs had fouled out in regulation, the Golden Hurricane went into the overtime with 6-foot-5 David Moss jumping center against UD’s 6-8 Dave Colbert.
“We knew we weren’t going to get the tip,” said Tulsa Coach J.D. Barnett.
Knowing that, the Hurricane set up some skullduggery. Assistant coach Jim Rosborough grabbed guard Tracy Moore as Moore left the huddle and told him to cheat on the tip.
Moore did it perfectly. Had it been the Olympics, the judges would have given him all 10s.
The sophomore left the circle just as Colbert slapped the ball back toward UD guard Negele Knight, the deep man in the Flyers’ alignment. Moore then tipped the ball just as Knight reached for it and it popped over Knight’s bead, back toward the Tulsa basket.
Moore, already beading that way, claimed it and went in for a layup that put Tulsa ahead for good. Using that as impetus, the Hurricane hit four more shots in four more tries in OT.
“You gotta be able to answer in overtime,” said Donoher. “They drew first blood and the pressure was on us. We scored two of our first three, but then they just kept on goin’.”
7. Dec. 3, 1983: Dayton 80, Northeast Louisiana 78
Headline: Young’s freebies save Dayton.
What Gary Nuhn wrote: Ed Young deposited four free throws in the final 21 seconds Saturday night to save the University of Dayton from the embarrassment of having blown an 18-point lead on its home floor.
As it was, the Flyers only blew 16 of the 18, holding on to beat Northeast Louisiana, 80-78, before 10,106 at UD Arena.
It was UD’s 33rd consecutive victory in season openers.
Young, a 78.8% free thrower last year, was on the line because of Indian mistakes.
After NLU had chopped the Flyer lead to two, 76-74, with 0:58 to play, UD Coach Don Donoher called a timeout.
During that timeout, as he always does in game-ending situations when he has the lead, Donoher put in Damon Goodwin, one of the Flyers’ best free throw shooters.
In this case, Goodwin replaced center Jeff Zern, who wears No. 50.
Meanwhile, in the other huddle, NLU Coach Mike Vining was telling his players to foul No. 50.
When the ball was passed in, the Indians were like shoppers trying to find a Cabbage Patch doll. Where was this No. 50? Did he exist? Someone find him, please.
Vining and his staff realized almost immediately what had happened and began shouting for their players to foul “No. 23″ (Goodwin).
But the play was unfolding at the other end of the floor away from the NLU bench. Communications were garbled — like between Reagan and Feldstein. Goodwin handled the ball at least twice as the Flyers stalled and neither time did the Indians slap him.
Finally, at 0:21, after 37 precious seconds had been wasted, Gerald Morris fouled Young.
“Young?” said Vining later. “We definitely didn’t want to foul him.”
Young, a sophomore, said much of the pressure was taken off him by the new rule that all fouls in the bonus in the final two minutes are two-shotters instead of one-and-ones.
“That’s a big thing,” Young said. “Plus, Chap (Roosevelt Chapman) came up and said, ‘Go ahead and make ‘em. We know you can.’ That helped my confidence, too. I just tried to get into my routine.”
The routine is: Dribble once, stop; dribble four times, stop: bend a little, then release.
“Concentration’s the major thing,” Young said.
He concentrated them both into the basket.
8. Nov. 19, 1999: Dayton 70, New Mexico 57
Headline: UD topples New Mexico.
Summary: This was the first victory in an 8-0 start in a season that would see Dayton return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 10 years.
What Albers wrote: The University of Dayton Flyers got their season off to a rousing start with a 70-57 upset victory over host New Mexico in the CoSIDA Classic.
Capitalizing on some kick-out passes from Mark Ashman, sophomore point guard David Morris had a career-high 17 points, and the Flyers ended New Mexico’s 41-game winning streak against non-conference foes at The Pit.
The Flyers (1-0) and Samford (1-0), who were expected to collide in the consolation game tonight, will instead meet for the championship. Dayton has never met the Birmingham, Ala., school in basketball.
Samford spoiled the expected St. John's-New Mexico matchup by upsetting the 15th-ranked Red Storm, 68-60, in Friday's first game. Now New Mexico will play St. John's in the preliminary.
"We felt very comfortable about coming in here and winning," UD coach Oliver Purnell said. "The most important thing was our players felt that way."
Credit: Stringer
Credit: Stringer
9. Nov. 10, 2007: Dayton 78, East Tennessee State 74
Headline: UD wins thrilling opener.
Summary: Brian Roberts’ senior season started with a 31-point performance.
What Doug Harris wrote: Brian Roberts and his Dayton teammates knew facing East Tennessee State would be about as much fun as a migraine, and they got exactly what they expected: a worthy foe capable of scoring in bunches, applying relentless pressure and keeping the outcome in doubt until the final minute.
But the one thing the defending Atlantic Sun Conference champions couldn't do was get the Flyers rattled.
“We have some guys with a lot of experience on this team,” Roberts said. “We’ve been through a lot. ... We know if we keep fighting and scrapping, everything will be alright in the end.”
Roberts scored 19 of his 31 points in the second half, and Chris Wright racked up 22 points and 13 rebounds in his collegiate debut to lead the Flyers to a taut 78-74 victory before 12,115 nervous fans.
10. Nov. 28, 1987: Dayton 63, Wittenberg 61
Headline: Knight’s jumper tips Flyers by Wittenberg.
Summary: The Flyers avoided being upset by a Division III school in their opener, but their play set the tone in a 13-18 season that would be the second of three straight losing seasons.
What Albers wrote: If there was any question as to whether Negele Knight is healthy, he answered it Saturday night.
Knight, returning to the University of Dayton basketball lineup after a year’s absence, buried a 16-foot jump shot with three seconds to play as the Flyers escaped the season opener with a harrowing 63-61 victory over upset-minded Wittenberg before a crowd of 11,693 at UD Arena.
And that wasn’t the half of it.
Knight scored a career-high 24 points, had nine assists and personally escorted the Flyers from the brink of disaster with his leadership.
Wittenberg’s Tigers, hustling all over the court and out-rebounding the taller UD team, embarrassed the Flyers in the first half and led 34-24 at intermission.
11. Nov. 25, 1992: Illinois 86, Dayton 78 (OT)
Headline: Flyers let Illinois off the hook.
Summary: A 4-26 season, the worst in modern UD basketball history, started in Alaska with a near upset of an Illinois team that would finish third in the Big Ten and play in the NCAA tournament.
What Albers wrote: It happened without warning
The University of Dayton Flyers appeared to be on the way to an upset victory over the University of Illinois Wednesday night in the Great Alaska Shootout. They were playing confidently. They had a 68-60 lead with 2:20 remaining. And then they came apart like a chunk of ice separating from the front end of a glacier and crashing thunderously into the water. It was a classic collapse.
As soon as the Fighting Illini discovered a crack in Dayton's exterior, they went after the Flyers aggressively and turned them into a few harmless chunks of floating ice.
Andy Kaufmann, an 82 percent career free throw shooter for the Illini, sank a pair with 11 seconds remaining to tie the game at 70 and send it into overtime.
Illinois outscored Dayton 16-8 in the five-minute overtime to hand the Flyers a heartbreaking 86-78 loss.
12. Nov. 23, 1991: Dayton 101, Austin Peay 94
Headline: UD does it again in home opener.
Summary: A 15-15 season started with a close victory against an Austin Peay team that would finish 11-17.
What Albers wrote: The University of Dayton Flyers pulled away from a stubborn Austin Peay team in the last seven minutes and defeated the Governors 101-94 for their 41st consecutive victory in a home opener.
A crowd of 11,525 watched the Flyers struggle through much of the game against the smaller but aggressive visitors, but they got down to business when the game was on the line.
Chip Jones scored 31 points and Makor Shayok added 20 to lead Dayton in scoring, but the game will be remembered for the successful debut of 6-foot-10 freshman Chip Hare, who contributed 13 points and several rebounds.
13. Nov. 16, 2008: Dayton 52, Wofford 49
Headline: UD can’t find offensive balance.
Summary: This was the first victory in an 8-0 start in a season that would see Dayton win a NCAA tournament game for the first time since 1990.
What Harris wrote: University of Dayton coach Brian Gregory was happy to see he could count on his defense being there when it was needed, but his team probably can’t expect too many more happy endings to games unless it masters the other facets of the game.
The Flyers were bludgeoned on the boards and looked like a two-man operation too often on offense, but they produced enough clutch plays to pull out a 52-49 squeaker against Wofford.
Marcus Johnson, who had 17 points, had a steal and dunk to break a 44-all tie with 3:03 to go, and Chris Wright, who also had 17, then made a steal and was fouled on a breakaway, and he sank one of two free throws for a three-point edge.
But the Terriers, a middle-of-the-pack team from the Southern Conference (where Davidson reigns), wouldn't go away. They cut the deficit to two with 1:20 to go, but junior college transfer Rob Lowery, who missed his first five shots in his debut with the Flyers, drilled a 15-foot jumper with 48 seconds to go to push the lead back to four and swished two free throws with 15 ticks left to seal the decision.
"You've got to have a short memory," Lowery said. "Nobody remembers the first five or six shots, they just remember the last one.
Credit: Erik Schelkun
Credit: Erik Schelkun
14. Nov. 14, 2009: Dayton 90, Creighton 80
Headline: Flyers solve Jay’s zone.
Summary: A season that ended with a NIT championship started with victory over a Creighton team that finished 18-16.
What Harris wrote: After studying Creighton like scientists going over a dinosaur fossil, University of Dayton coach Brian Gregory and his staff were convinced they’d see nothing but man-to-man defense in their team’s season-opener Saturday.
But Bluejays coach Dana Altman, who didn't have his top rebounder and two frontcourt subs because of illness and injuries, threw the Flyers a twist with a soft fullcourt press and 2-3 zone, and it befuddled the nation's 21st-ranked outfit for a half.
"I'm just happy in the last two days we did some zone work," Gregory said. "We watched every game film from last year, and I think they played zone one game or two games. They played man on every one of their possessions in the exhibition games. We got more comfortable with it in the second half, no doubt about it."
The Flyers overcame a 10-point first-half deficit by hitting 18-of-32 shots (56 percent) after the break to pull away for a 90-80 victory before a sellout crowd of 13,435 at UD Arena.
15. Dec. 2, 1972: Dayton 81, Illinois State 75
Headline: Dayton whips Illinois State.
Summary: The opening victory was a bright spot in a 13-13 season, the first non-winning season for Dayton since the 1940s.
What Hal McCoy wrote: Mike Sylvester and Donald Smith combined for 55 points to lead the University of Dayton to a season-opening victory over tough Illinois State, 81-75 Saturday night at UD Arena. Sylvester notched a career-high 28 points and last year’s scoring leader Smith hit 27 for the Flyers, who haven’t lost an opening game for 22 years.
The last two minutes of the first half was the Mike Sylvester moment. The Flyer’s co-captain whipped in seven straight points — four of them spectacularly — enabling U.D. to break from a precarious 34-33 lead to 41-35 at halftime.
The first two were routine, a pair of free throws. Then, Olympian Doug Collins was about to launch a jump shot, but Sylvester frisked him of the ball, dribbled to the length of the floor and somehow broke down the lane through a tangle of arms to plunk a layup, and the Flyers led 39-33.
Illinois State got its only points in the last two minutes, a tip-in by Ron DeBries, but Sylvester came right back with a circle move, a little maneuver stolen from Donald Smith. Sly whirled in a complete circle, leaving his man and hit a jumper for a 41-35 Dayton lead.
Sylvester finished the first half with 11 points, all coming in the final eight minutes.
16. Nov. 15, 1997: Murray State 76, Dayton 69
Headline: Flyers fall.
Summary: A 21-12 season started with a loss to a Murray State team that finished 29-4 and ranked 25th in the final Associated Press top-25 poll.
What Albers wrote: It was the thing the University of Dayton Flyers couldn’t afford Wednesday night.Ryan Perryman got into early foul trouble.
That, as much as anything, resulted in a 76-69 season-opening loss to Murray State before a crowd of 11,306 at the UD Arena.
Perryman, Dayton’s top rebounder, committed two personal fouls in the first 2:31, returned midway in the half and lasted only 1:38 before picking up his third. He was able to play 12 minutes in the second half, but he finished the night with only 9 points and 7 rebounds.
Murray State, banging the offensive backboards for several second-chance baskets, pulled away from the Flyers halfway through the second half and did some superb free throw shooting to protect the victory.
Senior guard De’Teri Mayes, a sharpshooter who made only 1 of his first 12 shots, came back strong to make 6 of his last 9 and lead the Racers with 23 points.
Murray State sank 12 of 16 free throws in the last two minutes when Dayton made a frantic run paced by Andy Metzler, who made 13 of his 15 points in the last 5:09.
About the Author
