The loss came one week after a 102-71 loss at Saint Louis.
Here’s a quick recap of the game:
What it means: Dayton (15-9, 6-5) suffered its fifth loss in the last six games. It’s the worst six-game stretch for the program since 2014 when it also lost five of six games.
Dayton remains in fifth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference but is now tied with Davidson (14-9, 6-5), which beat Loyola Chicago 84-64 on Friday.
VCU (18-6, 9-2) won its seventh straight game. It took a shot-clock violation on its final possession instead of trying for 100 points.
Dayton avoided giving up 100 points twice in the same season for the first time since the 1994-95 season, its last in the Great Midwest Conference. The Flyers finished 7-20 that season, giving up 100 points to Cincinnati in February and DePaul in March.
Dayton and VCU have played 27 times since the 2012-13 season, VCU’s first in the Atlantic 10 Conference. VCU is 17-10 in those games. This was Dayton’s most lopsided loss to VCU.
Stars of the game: Jadrian Tracey scored 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting for VCU.
Amaël L’Etang and Jordan Derkack each scored 15 points for Dayton.
Stat of the game: VCU outscored Dayton 31-18 at the free-throw line.
Biggest deficit: Dayton trailed by 30 points for the second straight Friday, VCU led by as many as 35 points.
Lineup news: Dayton guard De’Shayne Montgomery was listed as “Out” on the A-10 availability report. He started the first 23 games and is Dayton’s second-leading scorer (15.0 points per game). He did not make the trip to Richmond.
Dayton forward Jaiun Simon returned to action after missing the previous game against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. He had three points in seven minutes.
Looking ahead: Dayton gets an extended break before playing Davidson at 4 p.m. on Feb. 15 at UD Arena. It’s Dayton’s only Sunday game of the regular season.
HALFTIME RECAP
For the third time in the last six games, Dayton fell behind by 20 points or more in the first half, and they trailed VCU 50-27 at halftime.
Here’s a quick recap of the first half:
Key players: Jadrian Tracey led VCU with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
L’Etang scored seven points for Dayton on 3-of-5 shooting.
Key stat: VCU shot 53% from the field (17 of 32) with five turnovers. Dayton shot 36% (10 of 28) with 10 turnovers.
Turning point: Dayton trailed 19-18 after a 3 by L’Etang at the 10:14 mark. VCU outscored Dayton 18-3 over the next five-plus minutes to extend its lead to 37-21 at the 4:51 mark.
Bad trend: Dayton trailed La Salle 33-8 in the first half on Jan. 21 but cut the deficit to 40-29 at halftime before losing 67-64.
On Jan. 30, in a 102-71 loss at Saint Louis, Dayton trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and faced a 46-29 halftime deficit.
The 23-point halftime deficit Dayton faced against VCU was the largest halftime deficit of the season.
About the Author
