DAYTON, OH - Dayton jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening 3:49 and never trailed in winning its first-ever Atlantic 10 crown, 79-72, over Temple on Saturday in the finals of the 2003 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship.

UD, making its first appearance in the finals, knocked down 11 three pointers, including two by junior guard Ramod Marshall (Charlotte, NC). Marshall totaled 16 points and 11 assists and was named the Championship's Most Outstanding Player.

A layup by junior center Sean Finn (Hays, KS) at the 11:49 mark gave UD a 20-7 advantage, fueled by Finn's 11 points. A pair of three pointers by senior D.J. Stelly (Aurora, CO) in the final 2:09 sent the Flyers to the locker room with a 39-24 lead. Dayton held a 24-13 advantage on the boards and held Temple without a field goal for the final 5:17.

A pair of foul shots and a field goal from beyond the arc by Marshall at the start of the second half pushed Dayton's lead to 45-29 at the 16:59 mark, its largest of the second half. Temple (15-15) stormed back and closed to within 61-56 with 5:01 remaining, courtesy of nine points by freshman guard Maurice Collins (Philadelphia, PA).

However, Temple would get no closer as UD responded with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a three pointer by Mark Jones (Taftville, CT), opening up a 68-56 lead with 4:02 remaining. Two free throws by senior Brooks Hall (Troy, OH), and four by Stelly gave Dayton its 20th victory in its last 23 contests.

Finn led UD with 20 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season, while Stelly and Hall added 15 and 14 points each, respectively.

"I'm just so pleased for our players," said Dayton head coach Oliver Purnell. "Winning the championship in the Atlantic 10 is a tremendous accomplishment. It's an honor for me to be in the final against Temple and their Hall of Fame coach, John Chaney."

Temple, making its Conference-leading 13th appearance in the finals, was led by junior Brian Polk (Harbeson, DE), who totaled a game-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Polk nailed 14 three pointers in the Championship, tying Reggie Brown (UR), Monty Mack (UM) and Mark Karcher (TU) for the most in the 27 years of the A-10 Championship.

2003 Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team (as voted on by selected media)
Sean Finn, Dayton
Ramod Marshall, Dayton*
Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's
Brian Polk, Temple
David West, Xavier

*named Most Outstanding Player

For complete coverage of the 2003 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship, log on to www.atlantic10.org