Kobe Elvis hit two 3-pointers in the final 1:09 of overtime as No. 25 Dayton completed the regular season with a perfect record at home, rallying for a 91-86 win over VCU on Friday.
DaRon Holmes II had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Koby Brea scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half as the Flyers (24-6, 14-4 Atlantic 10) overcame a 17-point first-half deficit and improved to 15-0 at home.
Nate Santos had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Enoch Cheeks added 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Dayton avenged a two-point loss to VCU a month ago.
Elvis, who was honored before the game on Senior Night, scored 10 of his 15 points in overtime. His two free throws with 23 seconds left sewed it up.
The Flyers were without point guard Javon Bennett for the second straight game. The senior, who leads the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4), has a thumb injury.
With Bennett out, Dayton struggled to take care of the ball. The Flyers committed 14 turnovers, which led to 22 points for the Rams.
Zeb Jackson scored a career-high 26 points to lead VCU (19-12, 11-7), which lost its third straight. The last time the Rams had a three-game skid was in the 2019-20 season.
Sean Bairstow and Joe Bamisile added 13 points each as the Rams dropped a notch in the A-10 standings and will enter next week’s conference tournament as the No. 5 seed.
Max Shulga returned after missing a game with a back injury and delivered 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Rams.
VCU took its biggest lead of the second half, 52-43, when Kuany Kuany made a 3-pointer with 12:56 left.
But Brea answered with treys less than a minute apart to cut the deficit to 52-49, and the game stayed close the rest of the way.
After Brea tied it at 70-all, hitting a floater with 1:35 left in regulation, neither team scored, sending the game to overtime.
Early in the game, VCU hit six straight shots and played aggressive defense, forcing turnovers and turning them into opportunities at the other end.
Getting 3-pointers from four different players, including a banked trey by Jackson, who shrugged Michael Jordan-style, VCU raced to a 26-9 lead in the opening 10 minutes.
In the rest of the half, however, Dayton solved its ball-handling woes, allowing Santos and Holmes to thrive. The juniors combined to score the Flyers’ final 18 points of the period as Dayton sliced the deficit to 38-31 at the break.
VCU won the A-10 tournament last year, beating Dayton in the championship game, to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
–Field Level Media
