Fri, Mar 5, 2021

Dayton Fights Back, But Falls 73-68 At VCU In A-10 Quarters

Flyers Trailed By As Much as 19 Inside 10 Minutes To Play

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team couldn’t climb all the way out of the 19-point hole VCU put them in, as the Flyers fell in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship, 73-68.

UD fell behind by double-digits just minutes into the contest, and found itself down 36-55 with 9:11 left in the game.  That’s when Dayton battled back, making it a six-point margin in less than six minutes.  But the closest the Flyers got was the final five-point margin.

Jalen Crutcher led UD with 21 points.  Jordy Tshimanga had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Ibi Watson also added 10 points.  Ram guard Bones Hyland led all scorers with 30 points.

Dayton falls to 14-9 on the season, while VCU improves to 18-6.  The Rams will play the winner of Davidson and George Mason in Saturday night’s semifinals.

The A-10 Championship Game will be played at the University of Dayton Arena on Sunday, March 14.  Tip-off is 1 p.m. ET.

First Half:  VCU 37, Dayton 26

·         VCU jumped on Flyers, pushing out to an 11-1 lead in the game’s first four minutes.

·         Dayton cut it to five (13-8), but an 8-0 run by the Rams took the advantage back to double digits.

·         The Flyers were able to make it a seven-point game twice inside the last two minutes of the half, but VCU scored the last five points of the half.

·         UD shot 40% from the floor, while VCU shot 57%, but the most telling stat was in the turnover column.  Dayton committed 11 turnovers that led to 12 VCU points-off-turnovers.

·         Jalen Crutcher led the Flyers will eight points.  Jordy Tshimanga added six, with six rebounds.

Second Half:  VCU 73, Dayton 68

·         A Rodney Chatman three-pointer on Dayton’s second possession cut the gap to eight, 37-28.

·         VCU responded and the margin would not fall under 10 for just over 10 minutes.

·         The Rams led 55-36 with 11:19 to go, but Dayton dug down and began its comeback.

·         The Flyers forced a VCU timeout with 4:26 left when they chopped the difference to (62-52).

·         An Ibi Watson three and Jalen Crutcher free throw made it a six-point game (62-56) at the 3:49 mark.

·         Dayton would make it a two-possession game three more times, but every time the Rams would score on the next possession.

BY THE NUMBERS

·         Jalen Crutcher’s 21-point game was the 22^nd of his career.  He now has 1,587 points, 16^th all-time at Dayton.

·         Jordy Tshimanga’s 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes were his second career doubl-double.  His first was also against VCU.

·         Ibi Watson had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.

·         Crutcher, Watson and Mustapha Amzil each had two assists.

·         Amzil only scored three points, but his two assists and six rebounds contributed to his team-leading +10 mark in the +/- efficiency rating.

·         Dayton shot 41% from the field, while VCU shot 53%.The Flyers committed 21 turnovers, which led to 22 points off turnovers for the Rams.

COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS