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 (26-7) at 1 p.m. Sunday in the championship game. The game will air on CBS. It will be the third final between the Flyers and Rams, who won the matchup in 2015 and 2023.

VCU beat No. 3 seed Saint Joseph’s 77-64 in the semifinals to improve to 10-0 in A-10 semifinals.

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.