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Wright, Dayton Fly Past West Virginia

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The Associated Press

Published: March 21, 2009

Updated: 03/21/2009 12:56 am

MINNEAPOLIS - It would be hard to imagine a player and moniker meshing more seamlessly than Chris Wright and the Dayton Flyers.

With dunks exceeded in ferocity only by the altitude of their apex, Wright lifted Dayton to heights not seen on its Ohio campus in nearly 20 years.

Wright scored a career-high 27 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the 11th-seeded Flyers to a 68-60 win against sixth-seeded West Virginia on Friday in the Midwest Region, their first victory in the NCAA Tournament since 1990.

"We didn't need a Superman effort from anybody," Coach Brian Gregory said. "But it was nice to get a couple of them."

Charles Little added 18 points for once-mighty Dayton (27-7), which had been 1-13 against Coach Bon Huggins' teams dating to his days storming up and down the Cincinnati sideline.

These Flyers weren't as easily intimidated by his huffing and puffing.

They'll play third-seeded Kansas in the second round Sunday.

"There's times that we don't play very well," Gregory said. "But we never back down."

Darryl Bryant had 21 points and Devin Ebanks added 14 points and 12 rebounds for West Virginia (23-12), which had won at least two games in the NCAA Tournament in each of its last four appearances.

Wright, the highest of the Flyers from Dayton, threw down a one-handed goal-shaker off an inbounds pass and then a soaring tomahawk dunk in transition for a 46-37 lead with 14 minutes left in the game. He converted two 3-point plays off dunks, with teammate Mickey Perry's mother hollering "Put them in the hole, Superman!" while the free throws splashed through.

But Bryant hit two 3-pointers, Ebanks dunked and Da'Sean Butler kissed a jumper off the glass to pull West Virginia within 48-47 with 11 minutes to play.

That's when the Flyers really locked down defensively, holding the Mountaineers to just seven free throws in the next eight minutes to regain control.

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