The loss dealt another blow to already-slim NCAA tournament at-large hopes that had been gaining steam with three straight victory. It also dropped Dayton (15-8, 7-3) from second in the A-10 standings to third or tied for third, depending on VCU’s result Saturday afternoon against Duquesne.
Saint Louis (16-6, 7-2) earned a regular-season split with Dayton — the Flyers won the first game 68-63 on Jan. 11 — and moved into second place with their fifth straight victory.
Dayton took a 3-0 lead on a 3-pointer by a Kobe Elvis on the first possession of the game. Saint Louis scored the next nine points and led the rest of the way. Dayton got no closer than six points in the second half and trailed by as many as 17.
Dayton shot 42% from the field, and Saint Louis shot 49%. The Billikens shot 44% from 3-point range (8 of 18), while Dayton shot 38% (5 of 13).
Elvis led Dayton with 20 points. He was the only Flyer in double figures.
Martin Linssen scored 17 points off the bench for Saint Louis. Yuri Collins had 16.
HALFTIME RECAP
The Flyers shot 31 percent from the field and faced a 34-25 halftime deficit.
Dayton trailed by as many as 13 points in the half but twice got as close as seven points in the final minute. After a basket by Koby Brea with 24 seconds left, Saint Louis got the final shot and Collins hit a jump shot at the buzzer.
Elvis led Dayton with eight points. He made his first field-goal attempt, a 3-pointer on Dayton’s opening possession, but missed his next four shots. He made 5 of 5 free throws.
Malachi Smith, who missed all eight of his shot attempts two games ago against Rhode Island, made 2 of 10 attempts in the first half, scoring four points.
DaRon Holmes II and Toumani Camara, who combined for 39 points on Wednesday in an 82-52 victory at Virginia Commonwealth, combined for four points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Saint Louis shot 40.7 percent from the field and made 4 of 10 3-pointers. Collins scored nine points.
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