Dayton runs away from Fordham late to earn date with VCU in A-10 championship

Toumani Camara put exclamation point on a 78-68 victory Saturday against No. 3 seed Fordham with a tomahawk dunk in the final seconds. No. 2 seed Dayton won an A-10 semifinal for the first time since 2015.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (22-11) will play No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth (26-7) at 1 p.m. Sunday in the championship game. VCU beat No. 4 Saint Louis 90-78 in the first semifinal.

VCU last won the A-10 championship in 2015 when it beat Dayton 71-65 in the final game at the Barclays Center. Dayton has never won the tournament outside UD Arena. It won its only title there in 2003.

Stars of the game: Camara scored 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting. DaRon Holmes added 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Key stat: Dayton shot 60.4% from the field (29 of 48). That’s the second time this season it has topped 60%. It shot 64.4% in the other game against Fordham, an 82-58 victory in January.

Turning point: Dayton broke open a close game with six straight points by Holmes and then a 3-pointer by Mustapha Amzil, turning a 59-58 lead into a 68-58 lead at the 3:38 mark.

HALFTIME RECAP

Camara scored 13 points to lead Dayton to a 36-33 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the half:

Key player: Camara converted a 3-point play on Dayton’s first possession and scored Dayton’s first seven points in the first three minutes. He made 6 of 7 shots. He picked up his second foul at the 4:44 mark and did not return to the game in the half.

Key stat: Dayton had 10 assists on 15 field goals. It shot 53.6% (15 of 28) from the field overall, but 25% (3 of 12) from 3-point range.

Big run: Dayton trailed 15-14 at the 12:32 mark and outscored Fordham 7-0 over the next two minutes.

Big shot: R.J. Blakney made his first 3-point attempt after missing nine straight over his last eight appearances. He missed his second attempt and had three points in six minutes after playing only four minutes Thursday in a 60-54 victory against No. 10 seed Saint Joseph’s.

Missed chance: Fordham’s Darius Quisenberry was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Brady Uhl in the final seconds of the half but made 1 of 3 free throws. He scored six points in the half. Khalid Moore led the Rams with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.