St. Joseph’s run ends against Dayton in A-10 tourney
The Hawks fought the Flyers all game long, falling just as they made a push for overtime.
NEW YORK — St. Joseph’s run ends here.
The No. 10-seeded Hawks fell to second-seeded Dayton, 60-54, in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Thursday night at the Barclays Center.
The Hawks fought for all 40 minutes, coming back from a 13-point defitict to pull within three at 57-54 with 39.4 seconds left in the game. With less than a minute left and the season on the line, sophomore guard Erik Reynolds II hit a three-pointer and followed with a steal and a layup to bring St. Joe’s closer to the Flyers than they’d been in the second half.
Then two free throws by Dayton forward Mustapha Amzil and a Reynolds’ three-point attempt that popped out of the basket iced the win for the Flyers (21-11). Ultimately, the top defense in the conference proved too much for the Hawks (16-17) to complete the comeback.
“I’m going to keep focused on the big picture for tonight,” St. Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange said. “These guys fought to the very end against an amazing basketball team in Dayton.”
Dayton advances to the semifinals (Saturday at 3:30 p.m., CBSSN) to face the winner of Thursday’s late game between Fordham and La Salle.
Sloppy start
There were sloppy plays on both sides in the first half as both teams had seven turnovers. Dayton also missed its first nine three-point attempts. By contrast, the Hawks’ only offense early was from behind the arc.
St. Joseph’s first nine points were three-pointers, with freshman guard Chris Winborne notching the first points in the paint off the fast break almost 10 minutes into the game.
The Hawks were unable to capitalize on Dayton’s slow start, however. After a Kacper Klaczek three-pointer put St. Joe’s up 16-11, the Hawks’ offense fell silent. Dayton hit two three-pointers, spurring a 14-0 run that put the Flyers ahead 25-16 with 3:05 remaining before halftime.
St. Joseph’s didn’t go quietly. Senior guard Cameron Brown drilled a three-point buzzer-beater to cut the Flyers’ lead to 27-23 at half. The momentum was short-lived, as Dayton raced to a 13-point lead to start the second half.
Dayton’s defense
After his 34-point outburst against George Washington on Wednesday, Dayton held Reynolds to just three points in the first half. Although he finished with a team-high 19 points, the Flyers’ ability to stifle the conference’s second-leading scorer early allowed them to build their lead.
“We had great looks. And credit to Dayton. They played aggressively, they played hard, and that’s part of it, but I think it’s a little bit of fatigue. But I don’t want to make that excuse, because we had a good chance to win at the end of the game,” Lange said.
The Flyers held the Hawks to a 33% shooting, including 28% from deep.
Dayton also had five blocks and nine steals, and dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hawks, 42-34.
» READ MORE: A career night from Erik Reynolds II powers St. Joe’s past George Washington, 87-76