VCU's Spirited Effort Falls Short in Dayton

Final Score: Dayton 91, VCU 86 (OT)
Location: UD Arena
Current Records: Dayton 24-6, 14-4 in A-10. VCU 19-12, 11-7 A-10.

In a nutshell: By the 10:08 mark of the first half, VCU had jumped out to a shocking 17-point lead. In all, the Rams led for over 37 minutes of the contest. Thus, some VCU fans will surely think the Rams should have won this game to cap off the regular season. Yet, in spite of what was a spirited effort, this time VCU just couldn't finish the deal against the AP Poll's No. 25th ranked team.

While Zeb Jackson scored a career-high 26 points, VCU was unable to stave off Dayton's late rally in regulation time. Then, in the five-minute overtime period, with their confidence soaring, the Flyers pulled away; Elvis scored 10 of his 15 points in OT. 

So it was that the always tough Dayton Flyers, coached by Anthony Grant, finished the season undefeated on their home court (15-0). And, that's how VCU finished off the regular season with its third consecutive loss, to fall to fifth place in the conference standings.

NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.)

• Jackson knocked down 10-of-22 attempts from the field, including a career-best 6-of-14 from 3-point range. He also supplied five rebounds and three assists. Shulga added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Rams.
• Bamisile and Bairstow also poured in 13 points each for the Rams. Bairstow made three steals.
• Back-to-back buckets by Dayton’s Cheeks and Brea tied the game at 70-70 with 1:35 left in regulation. Although both teams had a pair of looks in the final 90 seconds, neither could convert.
• Jackson canned a 3-pointer from the wing to give VCU an 80-77 lead with 1:21 remaining in overtime, but Dayton’s Elvis answered with back-to-back triples over a dizzying 26-second sequence to put the Flyers in front 83-80 with 43 seconds left.
• VCU misfired on a 3-pointer on its next trip and four straight free throws extended the Flyers lead to 87-80 with 15 seconds on the clock. VCU staged one last-ditch effort when 3-pointers by Jackson and Shulga cut the deficit to 88-86 with four seconds left, but the Rams could get no closer.
• Dayton was led by Holmes, who recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds, as well as Santos, who chipped in 21 points and eight boards. 
• Dayton shot 54 percent (30-of-56) from the field in the game, including 55 percent (12-of-22) from 3-point range.
• The Flyers made 25 trips to the free throw line and connected on 19 of those free throws. VCU was sent to the line six times in the game, converting on 4-of-6.
• VCU leads the all-time series with Dayton 18-10.

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP: The Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. awaits. It will be held March 12-17. After a first-round bye, VCU will play the winner of the #12 vs. #13 game on Wed., Mar.13. Tipoff will be at approximately 2 p.m. The game will be televised on the USA network.