VCU tops Dayton to capture A-10 crown

Final score: VCU 68, Dayton 56. 

Location: The Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 

Current records: VCU 27-7. Dayton 22-12. 

In a nutshell: Wags like to say the teams with the best guards tend to win postseason tournaments. Well, from what we saw in the second half of the A-10 final, VCU proved the wags right. But perhaps it should also be said that more times than not, the better defense wins titles. So as you read this recap, the VCU Rams are being fitted for dancing shoes. 

At halftime Dayton led VCU by six points, 36-to-30. But in the second half VCU turned its effort up a notch and suddenly looked quicker than Dayton. VCU also looked more determined to play its crushing defense as intensely as they could muster. Fortunately, the referees didn't call every bit of contact a foul, and the Rams probably benefitted more than the Flyers did from that traditional "let-'em-play" post-season philosophy. 

In the game's last eight minutes, the tired Flyers just couldn't stay with the revved up Rams. VCU's guards led the charge and its big men followed. In the second half, VCU made good on 55.6 percent of its shots from the field, but Dayton could only manage to shoot at a 20 percent clip.

Ace Baldwin played all 40 minutes and scored 16 points to lead the VCU attack on the hoop. He also dished for seven assists. Jalen DeLoach scored 13 points, grabbed 10 boards, made three assists and blocked two shots. Jamir Watkins came off the bench to score 13 points and pull down eight rebounds. Speaking of the noteworthy contributions of the subs, VCU's bench scored 17 points. Dayton's bench provided only two points.  

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP: Make room in the NCAA brackets for the VCU Rams, winners of both the A-10 regular season and the conference's tournament. 

UPDATE: Info provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.

Twelfth-seeded VCU will take on fifth-seeded St. Mary’s (Calif.) in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 17 at MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. The Gaels are ranked 16^th in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.

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