RICHMOND, VA — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team secured the No. 3 seed in next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament with a 79-76 win at VCU in Richmond, VA.
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Dayton led 74-66 with 53 seconds left and had to hold off a late Rams’ run as they cut it to 77-76 with six seconds to play.
Malachi Smith buried two free throws with 5.2 seconds left, and Max Shulga missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.
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Dayton led by as many as 11 points in the first half, 16-5. The Rams got to within one, 23-22, with 3:12 left until halftime.
Smith scored five straight points to extend it to 28-22. The Flyers led 28-27 at halftime.
Joe Bamisile’s dunk and Jack Clark’s two foul shots gave the Rams their first lead, 31-28. L’Etang made two treys to UD ahead, 34-33.
There were 12 lead changes and four ties in the second half.
The game was tied at 60-60 when Santos found Zed Key for a dunk to put the Flyers ahead for good, 62-60.
Bennett made two free throws and stole the inbounds pass. He converted it for a layup to extend it to 66-60.
Shulga’s two free throws cut it to 66-62. Bennett’s four-point play expanded it to 70-62. Santos’ dunk gave Dayton a 72-64 advantage with 1:39 remaining.
Bamisile scored nine straight points to cut it to 77-73. Jack Clark’s steal led to a Shulga jumper to cut it to 77-75. Cheeks turned it over for UD, and Bamisile got fouled with six seconds left. He made one of two fouls, and they trailed by one, 77-76.
Smith got fouled and made his free throws. Shulga missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Javon Bennett led all scorers with 22 points. He was one of five UD players who finished in double figures. Smith had 13 points and seven assists. Enoch Cheeks added 12. Nate Santos scored 11 points, and Amaël L’Etang had 10.
The Flyers improved to 22-9 overall and 12-6 in the Atlantic 10.
Dayton secured the No. 3 seed and a double-bye in the A-10 Championship in Washington D.C.
Their first game in the quarterfinals will be Friday, March. 14.
The game will be broadcast on WHIO Radio. It will also be carried here at WHIO.com.
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