No. 2 seed Dayton moved within two victories of a NCAA tournament berth with a 60-54 victory against No. 10 seed Saint Joseph’s in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament Thursday at the Barclays Center.
“I thought our guys tonight show great heart, great togetherness and resiliency,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “It was one of those games where things weren’t going well offensively. I thought our defense carried the day for us, and that’s the thing about this team. We have a variety of different ways that we can win. When we’re flowing well offensively, this team is tough to beat, but we struggled offensively. Our defense has been outstanding all year.”
Dayton (21-11) clinched the victory when Mustapha Amzil made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to push the lead to five points.
Seconds earlier, Dayton had watched an eight-point lead trimmed to three in a five-second span. Erik Reynolds made a 3-pointer. After a turnover by Amzil, Reynolds scored on a layup. The Hawks trailed 57-54 with 39 seconds to play but could get no closer.
Dayton will get an off day in Brooklyn on Friday and play No. 3 seed Fordham, which beat No. 11 seed La Salle 69-61, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. No. 1 Virginia Commonwealth and No. 4 Saint Louis will play in the first semifinal at 1 p.m.
Here’s a quick recap of the game:
Star of the game: Toumani Camara had 17 points and 18 rebounds for Dayton.
Stat of the game: Dayton grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and outscored Saint Joseph’s 15-7 in second-chance points.
Big play: Dayton went more than seven minutes without a field goal in the second half before getting a dunk by DaRon Holmes with 1:51 to play and then a jumper by Koby Brea at the 1:10 mark. That pushed the lead to 57-49 and proved to be just enough.
Turning point: Dayton struggled to figure out the Saint Joseph’s zone defense. It missed its first nine 3-point attempts and then made four straight. It shot 27% (4 of 15), while Saint Joseph’s shot 31% (5 of 16).
Dayton trailed 16-11 when walk-on guard Brady Uhl made the team’s first 3-pointer at the 7:03 mark. Camara and Amzil made 3-pointers on the next two possessions. A basket by DaRon Holmes II and another 3 by Camara capped a 14-0 run as Dayton pushed its lead to 25-16 at the 4:11 mark.
Rotation news: Dayton played without two key players who suffered injuries Friday at Saint Louis.
Kobe Elvis was not in uniform after hurting his knee. Grant said after the game he has been ruled out for the tournament.
Mike Sharavjamts was in uniform and warmed up for the game in a knee brace but did not play. Grant said he was hopeful Sharavjamts could play Saturday.
Credit: David Jablonski
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