TODAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. Rhode Island or George Washington, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 95.7, 1290
Describing it as madness understates the matter. Basketball in March — especially at the Atlantic 10 tournament, where the first three games Friday were decided in the final minute — is mad, crazy, loony and every other adjective in the thesaurus.
The Dayton Flyers know that from experience but learned it again in the A-10 quarterfinals. Somehow they survived their St. Bonaventure adventure, winning 75-71 at the Barclays Center.
Dayton advanced. It persevered. The Flyers even dodged a beer bottle as they left the court. A frustrated St. Bonaventure fan, without any respect for good beer, tossed a bottle at the Flyers. It barely missed — just like the Bonnies on this night.
Dayton (24-7) completed a three-game season sweep of the Bonnies (18-13).
“We’re just a tough team that doesn’t want to go home early,” Dayton sophomore guard Kyle Davis said. “We want to play for a championship on Sunday. We just want to grind out and play hard every day down here to get one.”
The No. 2 seed Flyers will play No. 3 seed Rhode Island or No. 6 seed George Washington in the semifinals at 4 p.m. today. This is Dayton’s first semifinal appearance since 2011.
The Flyers barely lived to see another day.
After Jordan Sibert made 1 of 2 free throws with 12 seconds left, the No. 7 seed Bonnies (18-13) had a chance to tie, but Kendall Pollard stole the ball from Marcus Posley as he drove for a shot with six seconds to play. Pollard passed the ball ahead to Davis, who sealed the victory on a layup with two seconds to go.
Pollard’s steal was one of 10 for Dayton. The Flyers committed eight turnovers six days after committing 15 in their regular-season finale, a 55-53 loss at La Salle.
The Bonnies committed 16 turnovers. That stat, more than any other, defined this victory for Dayton.
“Last Saturday, we uncharacteristically beat ourselves in a lot of areas at La Salle,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “People who watched La Salle today (the Explorers lost to No. 1 seed Davidson on a buzzer-beater), you can see why they are very tough to score on. But we turned the ball over way too much. We had not been turning it over leading into the game. That was a big part of not giving the game away today.”
Pollard, named the most improved player in the Atlantic 10 on Tuesday, played like the most valuable player. He scored a career-high 26 points and made 11 of 16 shots from the field.
Sibert scored 19. Scoochie Smith had 11 points, six assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes.
The Flyers won despite a standout performance by St. Bonaventure’s offense. The Bonnies shot 58 percent from the floor. Dion Wright was 10 of 10 from the field until he missed his last shot. He scored 24. Marcus Posley scored 26.
“Those guys were spaced well today,” Miller said. “They shot the ball extremely well. Dion Wright, in particular, from 3, that threw a monkey wrench into what we were doing. He hadn’t done that coming into the game. And this is the first time that Marcus Posley had really gotten off on us all season.”
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