Dayton, ranked 24th in the country and seeded third in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament, was outscored 17-5 in the final minutes by No. 6 seed Duquesne, who had not beaten a ranked team in 10 years. The Dukes ended that streak with a 65-57 victory that adds to another streak for Dayton — 20 straight Atlantic 10 tournaments they haven’t won.
“Congratulations to Duquesne,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “I thought they came in, and they were obviously aggressive. They did a really good job on both sides of the ball. Credit to them and their team and their coaches.”
With Dayton (24-7) considered a lock for a NCAA tournament at-large berth by the experts, the A-10 will get a second team into the field with the automatic berth. Last year was the first time since 2005 only one A-10 played in March Madness.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 31st game:
1. Duquesne beat Dayton at the end, and it was the opposite the last time: Dayton made 1 of its first 10 shot attempts and trailed 14-4 with 11 minutes, 47 seconds to play in the first half. The Flyers chipped away at that deficit and trailed 30-28 after a 3-pointer by Javon Bennett in the final minute.
In the second half, Dayton twice took a four-point lead — 50-46 and 52-48 — but couldn’t stretch the advantage. Duquesne regained the lead with a 10-0 run from the 5:32 mark to the 3:56 mark.
Jake DiMichele made a go-ahead 3-pointer at the 5:06 mark. Dayton’s Nate Santos then missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Dae Dae Grant answered with two free throws. Dayton’s Koby Brea missed a wide-open 3. Grant then made a 3-pointer to give Duquesne a 58-52 lead with 3:56 to play.
“We couldn’t get any stops, and they made some shots,” Dayton point guard Javon Bennett said. “We weren’t really scoring. That hurt us in the stretch.”
In the last game against Duquesne, Dayton took over the game with a 22-0 run in the final minutes and won 73-59 on Feb. 13.
2. Dayton was the fourth upset victim of the day: No. 1 seed Richmond, No. 4 Massachusetts, No. 2 Loyola Chicago and No. 3 Dayton lost in that order Thursday.
The semifinals on Saturday will match No. 9 seed Saint Joseph’s vs. No. 5 seed VCU and No. 7 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 6 Duquesne.
All the top seeds were playing their first game against teams that had played at the Barclays Center already this week.
“I think it’s harder than people realize because you can’t simulate game activity,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said. “And then the other teams have been on the court and they’ve shot on the court. It’s difficult. It’s hard, especially for them, because they have some guys that are banged up. So they don’t have a lot of guys to practice with, too. In fairness to them, that’s a difficult thing.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3. Javon Bennett returned to action for Dayton: After missing two games with a thumb injury, Bennett started and played 24 minutes. He had five points, two assists and no turnovers.
“It felt good to be out there with my teammates and be able to play with them,” Bennett said. “I was able to get a couple of workouts, so my wind was good.”
STAR OF THE GAME
DaRon Holmes II led all scorers with 24 points. He made 5 of 13 field goals, including 1 of 3 3-pointers. He made 13 of 16 free throws. He also grabbed 13 rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME
Duquesne made 17 of 35 2-point shots, while Dayton made 9 of 24.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Flyers will now fly home and wait for Selection Sunday. They’ll find out where they’re going when the Selection Show airs at 6 p.m. Sunday.
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