Dayton’s comeback fall short as Saint Louis earns season split of series

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton finished the regular season with a record of 21-11 overall and 12-6 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. It tied for second with Saint Louis (20-11, 12-6). Fordham (23-7,11-6) could make it a three-way tie if it beats Duquesne at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Dayton had already secured the No. 2 seed in the A-10 tournament before this game. Saint Louis will get the No. 3 seed if Fordham loses or the No. 4 seed if Fordham wins.

Dayton and Saint Louis split the season series for the second straight season. Dayton won the first game 70-56 on Feb. 10 at UD Arena.

Key play: Dayton trailed the entire second half but had three chances to tie the game in the final minutes. Toumani Camara missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with Dayton trailing by two at the 2:47 mark. With 38 seconds remaining and Dayton again down two, Mustapha Amzil was called for traveling when he fell down near the basket while holding the ball. After a 5-second call against Saint Louis, Dayton got one more chance, but Camara missed a shot in the paint.

Star of the game: Javonte Perkins, of Saint Louis, led all scorers with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He was one of seven players honored after the game on Senior Night.

Key stat: Saint Louis outscored Dayton 20-8 in second-chance points.

Looking ahead: Dayton will play in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament at 5 p.m. March 9 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

HALFTIME RECAP

Saint Louis scored two baskets in the last minute of the first half to build a 41-32 halftime lead

Here’s a quick recap of the half:

Key player: Javon Pickett, of Saint Louis, led all scorers with 10 points. He made 2 of 3 3-pointers.

Key stat: The Billikens had a 22-15 rebounding advantage.

Turning point: Dayton led 25-24 with nine minutes to play after a 3-pointer by Mustapha Amzil. Saint Louis outscored Dayton 13-3 over the next five minutes.

Milestone: Dayton forward DaRon Holmes scored five points in the half to reach 1,000 in his career. He’s the 51st player in school history to reach the milestone and the first true sophomore.