Oh Davidson! It's a shame you don't play 2 x 15 minute halves, because the the last 5 minutes of each half were absolutely tragic, especially to finish the game.
Aaron and I watched as the Wildcats kept on pace, and then pull a little away from Dayton, before fading at half time to be behind by 1 at halftime (45-46).
We did get to see The Amazing Sladek at halftime. This 58 year old gentlemen started with a couple of forward flips, before placing 6 chairs on a table in an incredible balancing act, much to the cheer of the Davidson crowd. Definitely impressive and nerve-racking.
Davidson came out on fire in the second half. After such a weak ending to the first half I was expecting the worst. That was to come later. When Davidson raced to a 13 point lead with less than 8 minutes to go, I thought it was a shoo-in, but alas, at that moment in time, Davidson forgot how to shoot. They only managed another 4 points, as Dayton came back to send the game into overtime.
A lot of the Davidson crowd saw the writing on the wall and left then. And the Wildcats proved them right, as they continued to wilt and eventually succumbed to Dayton 82-89. These last 12 minutes of the game the Dayton crowd made their presence known. Out-cheering and urging their team onto a well deserved comeback and victory. In the end a disappointing performance and result for Davidson. A different result if the halves were 15 instead of 20 minutes.
This is my 6th game now, and while I still miss a lot of the calls, tonight it was evident to me how many bad and missed calls could be attributed to the referees. By no means is this an excuse for Davidson, but considering how frustrating it was for the crowd, both home and away, I can't imagine the players disbelief.
Dayton Flyers 89 (K. Pollard 18, X. Williams 17, S. Smith 17) defeated Davidson Wildcats 82 (P. Aldridge 27, J. Gibbs 27, J. Gudmundsson 10)
Crowd: 4,889
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