Dayton won a hard fought game in overtime against St. Louis on the road and Rhode Island used the clutch shooting of Head Coach Jim Baron’s son to nip Duquesne on Saturday….
I had an opportunity to watch St. Louis (coming off a record setting perfomrance for offensive futility vs. George Washington) almost pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season. They led 20th ranked Dayton for most of the game and had a wide open three point shot by their best shooter, Kevin Lisch, rimmed out in the last 30 seconds. A shot that would have given them the lead and the win. Instead they succumbed to Dayton in overtime.
It was two remarkable performances. One by Coach Rick Majerus who rallied his Billikens to within a jump shot of the the win. The other by Dayton guard Brian Roberts.
St. Louis is a team devoid of talent. They have no inside presence to go to which makes them work extrememly hard on every possession. However, they might be one of the best defensive teams in the country. All night long they made Dayton work for every shot. They allowed only a couple of baskets in transition the entire game. Also, they made Brian Roberts work for everything he got.
That is what is so amazing about Brian Roberts. He scored 30 points and hit every big shot the Flyers needed. He has a great presence on the court and a tremendous basketball IQ. It is easy to see why Dayton is off to such a great start. He is the brains and the catalyst. Remember his name because yo will see him in the NBA!!
Meanwhile Rhode Island battled tooth and nail against a rejuvenated Duqeusne squad. Ron Everhart has done a remendous job of elminating the losing attitude that has pervaded the Dukes for so many years. With the addition of two transfers and a former Marquette signee, he has his team in position for an at large bid.
Rhode Island on the other hand has a myriad of weapons. Led by the sharp shooting of Jim Baron, jr. Rhode Island came from behind to beat the Dukes. Will Daniels provided the inside scoring with 28. Look for the Rams to be NCAA bound as they improved to 15-2.
