By PAUL GOTHAM
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — It felt like March. There is no other way to describe the atmosphere inside the HP Field House Thanksgiving night as the University of Dayton Flyers and the Iowa Hawkeyes traded runs.
A pair of NCAA Tournament contenders rained haymakers. Dayton scored the first seven coming out of the locker room on their way to a 14-point lead. Iowa responded with 13 straight for a 72-69 edge with 3:10 left on the clock.
A record crowd roared its approval.
Kendall Pollard and UD felt right at home.
“This is not my first big game, so I just tried to stay composed,” the junior forward said. “I just tried to calm down, sort of let the game come to me.”
The junior answered Iowa’s rally with a runner off the glass from wing.
“That’s a shot I’ve been working on,” Pollard said with a smile. “Just thought I’d tee one up right there.”
His teammates took control from there. Charles Cooke drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner, and Scoochie Smith finished a pair layups in traffic as the Flyers held on for an 82-77 win.
“I thought our guys worked extremely hard,” Dayton head coach Archie Miller said. “Played with great energy, great effort. Knew they (Iowa) would make runs, they’re very experienced. They’ve played together for a long time. I’m just proud of our guys. We have a really good resolve around us.”
Pollard finished with 16 – one of four Flyers in double figures. Cooke notched a game-high 22. Smith added 11, and Kyle Davis chipped in 16.
Pollard, averaging 9.3 ppg, marked a season high with 16.
“My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball in the right spots,” Pollard noted.
He averaged 12.7 a year ago as part of a UD squad which advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s third round. He scored 2.2 for Dayton’s 2014 Elite Eight club.
Dayton (4-0) will take on Monmouth (3-1) Saturday night. The Hawks upset No. 17/18 Notre Dame, 70-68 to advance. A 9:30 pm tip time is scheduled.
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