Dayton, OH (2/21/01) - Like he has done so
many times in this magical season, junior
Marvin O'Connor put his team on his back
and carried them to a huge 82-72 win over a
strong Dayton team in one of the toughest
places to play in the Atlantic 10, the University
of Dayton Arena in front of 13,553 Flyers fans.
O'Connor, who is making a strong case for A-10 Player of the Year
honors, hit his first five three-point attempts en route to a career-high
eight treys. The 6-4 guard ended the night with 30 points as the Hawks
defended their first national ranking since the 1996-97 season with their
fifth conference road win in six attempts. It also kept the Hawks lead in
the race for the regular season title to a comfortable two games.
"I pretty much got going early," said O'Connor on his night. "Got great
screens from our big men. I got some good looks and I knocked them
down. Seems as if I get going early it is good for us as far as the team."
"I know there is conversation about Player of the Year, and I love my
guys," stated Hawk coach
Phil Martelli, who guided his team to its
eighth straight win and 16th of the last 17. "That is a big time
performance. You do not get 30 on the road and shoot 8-13 from three."
O'Connor's heroics were very timely as SJU played with its standout
freshman point guard
Jameer Nelson suffering from flu-like symptoms
and his backup,
Tyrone Barley, also sick. Nelson, who was being fed
hotdog rolls prior to the game and at halftime to garner strength, played
despite the illness. He was not his usual self, but fought through it to
finish with 10 points, five assists and six rebounds. Barley, who did not
make practice at the Dayton Fieldhouse on Monday, contributed his
normal steady perfomance off the bench, dishing three assists (0
turnovers) over four minutes.
Junior
Bill Phillips was also off his game, offensively, missing all eight
field goal attempts. Despite being held scoreless for the second time in
his SJU career, Phillips posted a team-high nine rebounds and dished
three assists.
"To get a win in these circumstances is as good as it can get for today,"
explained Martelli. "I do not quantitate the wins, nor qualify them. That is
the win that we had to have tonight. We shot 50 percent on the road, 85
percent from the foul line, which is unusual for us. I thought if we could
win the battle of the boards to be honest with you we could win the
game, and we won by thre (35-32)."
With two of its top three guns off the mark, senior
Na'im Crenshaw
came off the bench to lift the team with a season-high 18 points and
fellow senior Frank Wilkins also posted a season high, connecting on
all five of his shots for 12 points.
The game was filled with runs. The Hawks broke open a close game
midway through the first half with a 23-7 run over a six minute span to
take a commanding 43-20 lead with just 4:30 remaining before
intermission. O'Connor led that charge, nailing three straight trifectas
with Crenshaw and Wilkins also connecting from long range.
Dayton rallied back to cut the margin to 14, 43-29, at intermission, then
charged out of the gates in the second stanza to complete what would
be a 22-0 run by scoring the half's first 13 points. Senior guard Tony
Stanley, who was held to just six points in the first half, exploded in the
second. The 2000 second team all-conference performer hit three treys
in the first six minutes of the second half, the last tying the score at 48
with 14:15 to play.
SJU then went on an 8-0 run to take control again, 56-48, as O'Connor
answered the bell with two three-pointers. The Hawks built the lead back
to 12, 66-54, at the 9:47 mark as O'Connor continued his hot hand with
another "three" and a fastbreak layup. The Flyers never got closer than
seven the remainder of the game.
"To answer that crowd when it was a one-point game, Na'im Crenshaw
hit a monster three then he had two foul shots and another three,"
stated Martelli . "We played with a great amount of courage and needed
all 82 points to win the game."
Stanley led the Flyers (16-10, 7-6 in A-10), who were in desperate need
of the win to not only keep their slim NCAA hopes alive but also to
secure a bye in the conference tournament, with 19 points. Senior
forward Yuanta Holland came off the bench to post a double-double (16
pts, 11 rebs) while junior guard David Morris added 11 points.
The Hawks, now 22-4, 12-1, next travel to Pittsburgh to take on the
Duquesne Dukes on Sunday (2:00/Comcast SportsNet/WPEN 950).