Dayton rallies from 15-point deficit but loses in overtime

Dayton's Jordan Davis drives to the basket against Virginia Commonwealth's Isaac Vann on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va.

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Dayton's Jordan Davis drives to the basket against Virginia Commonwealth's Isaac Vann on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Va.

The Dayton Flyers rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 3:30 only to lose 88-84 in overtime Saturday to Virginia Commonwealth at the Siegel Center.

Dayton trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half and was down 78-63 at the 3:29 mark. It ended the second half on a 16-1 run. Josh Cunningham tied the game in the final seconds.

VCU’s Justin Tillman dominated the overtime period with seven points. Trey Landers missed what would have been a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4 seconds left.

Dayton (11-13, 5-7) falls to 1-5 in A-10 road games. The Flyers and Rams (15-10, 7-5) split the season series.

Jalen Crutcher led the Flyers with 21 points. Tillman scored 37 points for VCU.

HALFTIME RECAP

Jalen Crutcher hit a 3-pointer from halfcourt at the buzzer to give the Dayton Flyers a 40-38 halftime lead over Virginia Commonwealth at the Siegel Center on Saturday.

Dayton's star: Crutcher scored five of Dayton's first seven points. He finished the half with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He also had four assists, six rebounds and one turnover and played all but one minute.

VCU's star: Justin Tillman made 7 of 13 shots from the field and scored 14 points.

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Key stat: Dayton made 10 of 17 shots from 2-point range and 6 of 15 3-pointers.

Big run: Dayton went on a 9-0 run after falling behind 22-20 to take its biggest lead, 29-22 with 7:42 left.

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Early struggles: John Crosby had three turnovers in five minutes for Dayton.

Good contribution: Matej Svoboda made 1 of 2 3-pointers. He and Crosby were Dayton's only reserves to play. Xeyrius Williams and Kostas Antetokounmpo didn't play in the first half.

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