Crutcher delivers in clutch as Dayton beats UMass

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While UMass (7-9, 0-3) is not a good team by any measure this season, it is a dangerous team capable of pulling the upset and had beaten the Flyers three times in a row. It took a tie-breaking 3-pointer by Jalen Crutcher with 70 seconds to play, as the shot clock ticked down, for Dayton (11-5, 3-0) to pull out its sixth victory in a row.

“We go over that play every day in practice,” Crutcher said. “Anytime a guy goes under the screen, I shoot the ball. He went under it. I just shot it. I was open.”

Crutcher made 4 of 5 3-pointers and scored 19 points after a three-game stretch in which he made 2 of 16 shots from long range. He also hit the clutch shot one season after missing what would have been a game-winning shot at the buzzer at UMass in the second half in a game Dayton lost 86-82 in double overtime.

“I remember that shot every day,” Crutcher said. “I always think about that shot.”

Crutcher stole the headlines from his fellow sophomore guard, Jordan Davis, who made 7 of 11 3-pointers against GW and 6 of 8 in this game. After scoring 25 points in the 72-66 victory at GW, he scored 21 points.

Asked what was the key to staying hot, Davis said, “Just keep shooting and just keep believing.”

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Davis scored 11 points in the first half to help lead the Flyers to a 38-33 halftime lead. Josh Cunningham had 14 of his 15 points in the first half.

In a matchup of the two highest-scoring offenses in the Atlantic 10, Dayton held UMass to 3-of-12 shooting from 3-point range in the first half. The Minutemen caught fire in the second half, making 7 of 13.

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Dayton made 11 of 19 3-pointers, but its offense went cold in the final 10 minutes. After a jumper by Crutcher at the 9:21 mark, Dayton didn’t make another field goal until Crutcher’s 3-pointer. The Flyers scored four points in that stretch — all on free throws by Trey Landers —as a 61-55 lead slowly slipped away.

Crutcher’s shot helped Dayton stay atop the A-10 in a tie with Davidson (12-4, 3-0) and Saint Louis (12-4, 3-0).

"I thought this was a really hard-fought game today," Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. "Both teams competed at a high level. We talked about it before the game that this would be that type of game. I say this all the time. Everyone in the preseason said when you look across the A-10, this is a year when anything can happen in the league, and obviously UMass comes in 0-2 in conference play, but they've been right there throughout the year. We knew this would be a battle."