Dayton’s A-10 dream dies with third loss to VCU

This game was the closest of all three, but the final score was deceiving. Dayton trimmed a 19-point deficit to single digits in the final minutes but never got close enough to give VCU a serious scare.

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No. 2 seed VCU (18-6) advanced to the semifinals. It will play No. 3 seed Davidson or No. 6 George Mason at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Siegel Center.

No. 7 seed Dayton (14-9) saw its season end — barring an NIT bid — with another lackluster performance. The Flyers will not play in the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year. That streak would have ended last year if not for the coronavirus pandemic.

Dayton’s run of futility in the A-10 tournament also continues. It hasn’t won the championship since 2003. Ten different programs have won since then.

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VCU led Dayton from start to finish and stretched its lead to as many as 19 points in the second half. Bones Hyland led VCU with 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting. He had missed the previous two games with a foot injury.

In what was likely his final college game, Jalen Crutcher led Dayton with 21 points and scored the final basket of the game on a coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer. Ibi Watson and Jordy Tshimanga, two other seniors, each scored 10 points.

Dayton couldn’t overcome 21 turnovers and 41 percent shooting. VCU shot 53 percent from the field and had 15 turnovers.

HALFTIME RECAP

Hyland scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead Virginia Commonwealth to a 37-26 halftime lead.

The quarterfinal started with a 3-pointer by VCU’s Adrian Baldwin on the first possession and ended with Hyland making a desperation 3-pointer from the corner in front of Dayton’s bench as he was falling out of bounds.

Playing on the court where it scored 13 points in the first half against VCU in January, Dayton fell behind 11-1 in the first four minutes. Dayton trailed by as many as 14 points but cut the deficit to seven in the final two minutes.

Dayton committed 11 turnovers, while VCU had five. The Rams shot 57 percent from the field, while Dayton shot 40 percent.

Crutcher led Dayton with eight points. Tshimanga scored six.