VCU stuns Dayton with comeback in final 30 seconds

Rams end Dayton’s seven-game winning streak and 17-game home winning streak

A last-minute meltdown cost the Dayton Flyers, who suffered their second straight one-point loss at home to Atlantic 10 Conference rival Virginia Commonwealth.

Dayton fell 53-52 on Jan. 5 last season when Adrian Baldwin made a go-ahead 3-pointer with six seconds to play. That was its last loss at UD Arena until Friday when it committed three turnovers in a row in the last minute and lost 63-62.

Dayton had a 52-48 lead and the ball with 30 seconds left when Mike Sharavjamts threw a pass that was intercepted by David Shriver, who made a 3-pointer with 28 seconds to play. On Dayton’s next possession, Toumani Camara advanced the ball past half court but had it stolen by Nick Kern, who scored a go-ahead layup with 16 seconds to play.

Dayton turned the ball over again on the in-bounds play after that basket, but Jayden Nunn missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Dayton got the ball over halfcourt and called timeout to set up a play with 5.7 seconds left. Camara got the ball but missed a shot near the rim with two defenders on him.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (12-6, 4-1) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped and fell into a tie for first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with VCU (13-5, 4-1). VCU snapped Dayton’s 17-game home winning streak.

Star of the game: Camara scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also committed nine of Dayton’s 18 turnovers.

Stat of the game: VCU made 6 of 10 3-pointers in the first half after missing all five of its attempts in the first half. Shriver made all six of the 3s and scored 18 points.

Streak ends: DaRon Holmes II scored 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting. He had scored 20 points or more in seven straight games.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Camara scored 13 points to lead the Flyers to a 33-19 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key player: Camara, who had 15 points, all in the second half, on Tuesday in an 82-58 victory at Fordham, made 6 of 8 field goals and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. He also blocked two shots.

Key stat: Dayton had a 22-11 rebounding advantage.

Big run: Dayton outscored VCU 9-0 to turn a 24-17 lead into a 33-17 advantage with 1:13 to play.

Outside-shooting disparity: Dayton made 2 of 5 3-pointers in the first half with Koby Brea and R.J. Blakney each making one. VCU missed all five of its 3-point attempts.

Roster news: Kobe Elvis was in uniform for the first time since Nov. 25 but did not play in the first half. He missed the previous 10 games with a knee injury.

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