Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball

Dayton vs St. Louis Basketball Recap

Saint Louis 68, Dayton 65 (2OT)

If there was a manual entitled, "How to Squander Favorable NCAA Tournament Positioning," the Dayton Flyers just authored a colorful chapter.

After whacking Xavier and Charlotte at home, coach Brian Gregory's group from Ohio had attained a markedly improved place in the NCAA pecking order, but in the weeks to come, the Flyers needed to show that they could bag a decent - and not overwhelmingly difficult - win on the road, in the kind of tricky test that the Selection Committee notices in March.

They came very close, but close doesn't cut the mustard in a climate of cutthroat competition. Late-game lapses and crunch-time collapses doomed Dayton in an agonizing double-overtime defeat that could loom large next month.

With 2:21 left in regulation at the Chaifetz Center in St. Louis, Mo., everything was proceeding according to plan for the visitors from the Upper Midwest, but just when the end of the journey appeared in plain sight, the same steady stride that powered Dayton for most of the afternoon immediately turned into a tight and halting gait. Flyer guard Paul Williams - so instrumental in many of UD's earlier wins this season - missed not one, but two front ends of one-and-ones. Given this portal to a comeback, the homestanding Bilikens crept within three points (54-51) and had the ball with a chance to tie in the closing seconds. The clock worked its way inside five seconds, giving Dayton a perfect opportunity to foul and deny Coach Rick Majerus's team a chance to shoot a 3-pointer. However, no foul came, and when SLU's Kwamain Mitchell threw down an improbable 30-footer with two seconds left, the Flyers' late eight-point lead had vanished.

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Into one overtime the two sides fought, and with the score tied at 59 in the final seconds, Dayton had a chance to win. However, reserve guard Rob Lowery turned the ball over with two seconds left, and Saint Louis earned yet another reprieve. The Bilikens - so fortunate to remain standing in regulation and then again after five bonus minutes - took advantage of their third life in the second overtime stanza.

Forward Cody Ellis went only 3 of 11 in the field in this game, but he drilled the biggest shot of the afternoon, a 3-pointer that broke a 63-all tie with 41 seconds remaining in double overtime. Dayton didn't have an answer, and the Flyers nose-dived in a loss that will make them sweat for the next few weeks.

Normally, it's good to teach others how to do something. The Dayton Flyers offered an exception to the rule on a stomach-punch Saturday.

By: Matt Zemek
A10-fans.com Staff Writer