|
 "We started eliminating that noise in January when no one liked
us," he said.
If Wednesday night means anything, the Flyers might have to take the
plugs from their ears.
Using a 16-2 second-half run, Dayton took a huge step toward
securing an at-large NCAA berth with a 72-67 Atlantic 10 Conference
upset of No. 17 Saint Louis at Chaifetz Arena.
It was the eighth win in nine games for the Flyers, who never led
until a 3-pointer by guard Jordan Sibert with 5:49 left snapped a
57-57 tie. That basket keyed a stretch in which Dayton (21-9, 9-6)
scored on six consecutive possessions against the conference's top
scoring defense.
"We found a way to start playing together more and more," Sibert
said of the late spurt. "We stayed together. We had to keep playing
hard."
Sibert paced the Flyers' balanced attack with 14 points, and he
added five rebounds and four steals. Forward Dyshawn Pierre added 11
points, and reserve forward Jalen Robinson contributed 10, canning
two critical 3-pointers during the big run. Forward Devin Oliver
capped it with a three-point play in transition, giving the Flyers a
68-59 advantage with 3:38 left.
The Billikens fought back, closing within 68-67 with 33.5 seconds
remaining on a layup by forward Dwayne Evans. Dayton came up empty
on five straight possessions, committing three turnovers.
Guard Khari Price steadied the Flyers by hitting two foul shots with
27.2 seconds left for a three-point lead. Center Rob Loe and guard
Jake Barnett clanged potential game-tying 3-pointers on Saint Louis'
next possession.
Sibert sewed it up by nailing both ends of a one-and-one with 3.3
seconds remaining, capping Dayton's 11-of-11 performance at the line
in the second half.
The Billikens (25-5, 12-3) dropped their third straight game, in
part because they converted only eight of 15 free throws after
halftime. Evans, Barnett and guard Jordair Jett each missed foul
shots in the final 3:20.
"I thought it was a good college basketball game," Saint Louis coach
Jim Crews said. "Thought we played pretty well for stretches, but
Dayton outplayed us. We got a great look at the end, and it just
didn't go down."
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While the Billikens' Senior Night ceremonies were dampened by the
result, Saint Louis still earned no worse than a share of the
conference title when George Washington dumped Saint Joseph's 76-71.
The Hawks' loss also assured the Billikens of the top seed for next
week's conference tournament.
Not surprisingly, Crews chose to focus on that accomplishment
instead of his team's late-season slide.
"These guys have won back-to-back championships, and it's hard to
win a game, much less a championship," he said. "I'm not delighted
that we lost, but to win back-to-back championships, that's
awesome."
Evans scored a game-high 18 points for the Billikens, and guard Mike
McCall Jr. added 10. However, Jett, an A-10 Player of the Year
candidate, took just three shots and scored only nine points. He
appeared to suffer the effects of a knee injury that cost him
first-half minutes.
The Flyers trailed by as many as 10 points early in the second half,
but they kept running fresh bodies on the floor and finally produced
the big run that gave them a result they desperately needed to boost
their NCAA at-large resume.
"With the implications going into this game, it was the biggest win
in my four years," Oliver said.
NOTES: Saint Louis' senior class, which was honored in postgame
ceremonies, is the winningest group in school history. The players
own 91 victories, two more than last year's group. ... A good
barometer of success for Dayton has been how many players score in
double figures. When the Flyers have three or more tally at least 10
points, they are 20-2. ... The Billikens' pep band played the New
Zealand national anthem before the game to honor senior C Rob Loe,
who hails from Auckland.
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