VCU 71, Dayton 65: Treveon Graham had 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists as the Rams edged out the Flyers for the Atlantic 10 tournament championship in Brooklyn, N.Y.
JeQuan Lewis scored 15 points and Mo Alie-Cox scored 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field for VCU (26-9), which snapped a two-game losing streak in the Atlantic 10 title game. Terry Larrier added 10 points for the Rams.
Scoochie Smith led Dayton (25-8) with 16 points and four steals, while Dyshawn Pierre and Jordan Sibert each scored 14 points. Kendall Pollard had 13 points for the Flyers, who were only 2-of-12 from 3-point range.
The first half was close throughout, but a closing 9-2 run on 3-pointers by Larrier, Melvin Johnson and Lewis put VCU up by seven at the break, and Graham hit a 3 in the opening seconds of the second half to up the advantage to 10. But Dayton held the Rams without a field goal for nearly seven minutes, tying the game with just under 12 minutes to play on Pierre's tip-in.
It was still tied with just over a minute to go when Graham got free for a layup and Doug Brooks got a steal and fed Lewis for another layup to put VCU up four with 53 seconds left. The Flyers tried to foul to get back into the game, but the Rams went 8-for-8 from the line the rest of the way to hold off the charge.
GAME NOTEBOOK: VCU was 5-of-13 from the line before the closing minute's perfect showing. … The Flyers used only seven players, with the bench going 0-of-7 from the field for zero points. … The Rams won the rebound battle 40-35 despite Pierre's team-high 11, including six offensive boards.
VCU | Dayton | |
Treveon Graham 20 | Scoring | Scoochie Smith 16 |
Treveon Graham 4 | Assists | Dyshawn Pierre 4 |
Treveon Graham 13 | Rebounds | Dyshawn Pierre 11 |
Treveon Graham 5 | Free Throws Made | Jordan Sibert 7 |
Mo Alie-Cox 1 | Steals | Scoochie Smith 4 |
Mo Alie-Cox 1 | Blocks | Dyshawn Pierre 1 |