Dayton basketball: Flyers beat Saint Louis in A-10 semis on last-second tip-in by L’etang

That basket followed two big shots by both teams. Dayton’s Jacob Conner made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11 seconds to play. Robbie Avila, of Saint Louis, answered with a 3 to give the Billikens a 69-68 lead with 6.6 seconds to play.

That led to Dayton getting the final shot and the tip-in by L’Etang.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (23-10) beat a higher-seeded team in the A-10 tournament for the first time since 2011. That was also the last time it beat a No. 1 seed. It had lost six straight games to higher seeds since beating Xavier in the quarterfinals 14 years ago.

Dayton advanced to the A-10 championship game for the fourth time. It won its only championship in 2003 and lost in the title game in 2011, 2015 and 2023.

Dayton beat Saint Louis (24-9) for the second time since a 102-71 loss at Saint Louis on Jan. 30.

Star of the game: Derkack scored 28 points, matching DaRon Holmes II and Toumani Camara for the highest score by a Flyer in the A-10 tournament since at least 2005.

Derkack made 6 of 12 field goals, including a season-best 4 of 7 3-pointers. He made 12 of 15 free throws.

Derkack scored 15 points and made 10 of 12 free throws in a 68-63 quarterfinal victory against St. Bonaventure on Friday.

Stat of the game: Saint Louis had 18 turnovers to Dayton’s eight. The Flyers outscored Saint Louis 19-9 in points off turnovers.

Comeback: Dayton trailed 49-38 with 14:56 to play in the game but rallied and took the lead on a 3 by Derkack with 8:09 to play.

The Flyers then built a five-point lead before giving up a 9-0 run to Saint Louis.

After a 3 by Derkack tied the game at the 2:40 mark, Saint Louis held the lead until the 3 by Conner with 11 seconds to play.

Looking ahead: Dayton will play No. 2 seed Virginia Commonwealth or No. 6 Saint Joseph’s in the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday. CBS will broadcast the game.

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton overcame an early 15-4 deficit to take the lead but faced a 36-33 halftime deficit.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Derkack scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting for Dayton. De’Shayne Montgomery added 10 points.

Amari McCottry scored nine points for Saint Louis.

Key stat: Saint Louis shot 57% from the field (13 of 23). Dayton shot 41% (12 of 29).

Turning point: Dayton trailed 15-4 six minutes into the game. The Flyers rallied to take a 27-25 lead on a 3-pointer by Derkack at the 5:52 mark.

Turnover issues: Saint Louis committed 11 turnovers to Dayton’s five.