Rams defeat Flyers to finish regular season

Final Score: VCU 68, Dayton 62.
Location: UD Arena in Dayton.
Updated Records: VCU 24-7, 15-3 in A-10. Dayton 21-10, 12-6 in A-10.

In a nutshell: In his first year as head coach Phil Martelli guided the VCU Rams men's basketball team to an impressive 24-7 record. At this point VCU is being seen as somewhat likely to receive an at-large invitation to the Big Dance, should the Rams not win the upcoming Atlantic 10 tournament. Yes, somewhat. 

That's life "on the bubble." To get in this position VCU needed to beat the always tough Dayton Flyers twice. Which it did.

Some noteworthy Rams stats: Lazar Djokovic scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Coming off the bench Terrence Hill scored 13 points and dished for three assists. Barry Evans chipped in 11 points and six boards. Brandon Jennings scored eight points, got seven rebounds, handed out four assists and made three steals. 

In winning 13 of its last 14 games the surging Rams consistently exhibited a knack for playing well during last minute pressure. That's a trait that should serve them well in postseason play. 

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

·      VCU shot 49 percent (25-of-51) from the floor on the night, including 52 percent (11-of-21) in the second half alone. The Rams held the Flyers to 34 percent (11-of-32) shooting in the second half. Dayton shot just 4-of-22 from 3-point range in the game.

·      Timely shot making down the stretch helped carry the Rams across the finish line. Back-to-back buckets by Bennett and De’Shayne Montgomery pulled Dayton within 62-60 with 3:57 remaining. But on the ensuing possession, Djokovic buried a turnaround hook shot in the lane to give VCU breathing room. The Flyers’ Amael L’Etang answered with a putback a short time later to make it 64-62 with 1:47 left. On VCU’s next trip down the floor, Hill knocked down a fadeaway jumper in the late to keep Dayton at bay. The Flyers missed their final three shots of the game as VCU held on for the win.

·      Javon Bennett led all players in scoring with 17 points for the Flyers.

·      The game featured seven ties and 12 lead changes. The largest lead by either team Friday was six points.

·      The Rams finished 15-3 in A-10 play for the second straight year. VCU has secured the No. 2 seed in next week’s conference tournament.

 

BOXSCORE

NEXT UP: At PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, VCU will take on a team yet to be determined in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. Tipoff at 5 p.m.  

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