“Dyshawn made a great play on the ball,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “Usually when you get a blocked shot like that at the end of the clock, it leads to some type of loose ball.”
Dozens of students, some clad in togas and others wearing pajamas, flooded the court to mob McDonald and his teammates after the final shot as the Flyers dodged them with their heads down.
A valiant Dayton comeback in the second half and another in overtime, followed by the most clutch shot of the season — a 3-pointer by Kyle Davis with 16 seconds left that gave the Flyers a 64-63 lead — ended with another loss on the road.
“You don’t feel good at all when you lose any game, but when you lose the way we did tonight, it sort of sticks a stake in your heart,” Miller said. “Those are the tough ones to recover from. For us, we’ve got to move on. We’re on to Saint Louis. Whether we won this game, lost this game, lost by 20, it doesn’t really matter. The next day, the next approach is the only thing on my my mind right now.”
The Flyers (17-5, 7-3) won their first two A-10 road games against St. Bonaventure and Fordham and have since lost at Davidson, Massachusetts and now George Washington. They fall to third place, tied with George Washington (17-6, 7-3), two games back in the loss column of Virginia Commonwealth (18-4, 8-1) and a half game back of Rhode Island (15-5, 7-2).
Dayton trailed 24-21 at halftime but regained the lead twice midway through the second half. A 12-3 run by the Colonials gave them a 48-40 lead at the 6:45 mark.
Davis got the Flyers back in the game, scoring eight of his 13 points in less than two minutes.
“Early in the game, I missed two 3s,” Davis said. “I got into foul trouble. Coach told me to be ready and play with four fouls and just continue to attack and continue to shoot.”
The game went to overtime when Jordan Sibert, who led the Flyers with 17 points, scored on a layup with 38 seconds left.
Dayton played the overtime without Kendall Pollard, who fouled out with 3:05 left in the second half.
George Washington scored the first six points of overtime, but again the Flyers clawed back. If not for that last bad break, they would have escaped with a victory.
“It’s tough,” Pierre said. “We really fought the whole game. We really stuck together. To lose on a buzzer beater, it’s kind of heartbreaking.”
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