DAYTON — President Barack Obama’s visit to the Miami Valley on Tuesday along with British Prime Minister David Cameron caused plenty of reaction from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to their seats at University of Dayton Arena.

Obama and Cameron attended the first game of the two-day First Four round of the NCAA tournament in Dayton. As Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State played on the court, the added security around the event caused some to say they missed more work than they had planned so they could arrive early, and they said traffic was slower because of the visit.

But mostly, attendees said, they tried to reach UD Arena in time to avoid hassles with the added intrigue of getting eyeballs on the president.

Father and daughter Henry and Lindsey Bokor drove from their home near Toronto because they wanted to see an NCAA tournament game and Tuesday’s date was best in their schedules. They first heard Obama and Cameron would be at the game while having lunch near the Dayton Mall, then they quickly drove over to arrive early.

“For us, this is exciting,” Henry Bokor said. “We picked a good day to come to see something different.”

It was also a special experience for residents and visitors throughout the area and in the arena. Obama and Cameron were greeted with cheers by about 100 airmen when they landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base late Tuesday afternoon. Obama and Cameron asked the airmen how they were doing. Several said Obama thanked them personally for their service.

“He was telling us ‘thank you.’ We should be telling him thank you,” said Airman First Class John Adams, 24, of South Carolina. “He was cool, calm and collected. He came over there and he acted like he kind of knew us.”

Senior Airman Katherine Streepy, 22, of Greenfield, Ind., said Obama and Cameron shook her hand. “It was amazing. I was kind of starstruck to see the president firsthand,” said Streepy.

There was the same anticipation at the arena. Western Kentucky alumni and Louisville residents Nathan Gardner, Bret Combest and Kristin Ford were first in line at one of the will-call windows to pick up tickets they had purchased. Gardner and Combest, who drove in from Louisville, said they left early to avoid potential traffic delays and arrived at 3:30 p.m.

“We heard it could be slower, so we just wanted to get here,” Gardner said.

Inside the arena, many in attendance remained standing following the national anthem while looking toward the courtside entrance. Media covering the president first appeared before Obama, Cameron and Gov. John Kasich. When Obama strode into view, the fans erupted with cheers and applause, and he greeted UD students while shaking hands and waving to the crowd.

Kathleen Beljan, 22, a UD soccer player who is majoring in chemical engineering, had to leave part way through the game to study for a test this morning but said, “I shook hands with President Obama.”

Evan Sartin, 20, of Dallas has been in Dayton for three months as an airman at WPAFB studying bioenvironmental engineering. He and 19 other technology students from his dorm were selected to attend the game based on several attributes, including their behavior. “I can’t even begin to describe what it is like,” he said, to have the president sitting just rows away.

Some UD students hadn’t been able to get in the group picture with Obama, but he promised he’d return after speaking with the national press, said Paul Azzi, a UD senior. “And he came back,” he said.

“He pointed at me and said ‘Come here’ for the (second) picture,” said Chelsea Cooper, a junior.