Jalen Crutcher scored 20 points and Josh Cunningham added 18 to lead Dayton to a 69-64 victory over Butler on Wednesday night at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament at Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas.
The Flyers (4-0) will face Virginia in a semifinal game Thursday. The Bulldogs (3-1) will oppose Middle Tennessee State in the consolation bracket, also on Thursday.
Crutcher hit 6-of-8 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 3-pointers, and tallied five rebounds and three assists. Cunningham collected a team-high eight rebounds. Trey Landers contributed 10 points and Ryan Mikesell added nine points for Dayton before fouling out.
The Flyers shot 54.3 percent from the field.
Sean McDermott and Paul Jorgensen led the Bulldogs with 18 points apiece. Kamar Baldwin added 11 points for Butler, but made just 5-of-17 shots.
The Bulldogs shot 40 percent from the field and struggled at the line, making only 9-of-17 free throws.
After Butler closed the deficit to 48-39 on Jorgensen's layup with 10:14 to play, Dayton responded with an 8-2 run to take a 56-41 lead.
A 3-pointer by McDermott and a layup by Jorgensen pulled the Bulldogs within 65-60 in the final minute, but Crutcher's two free throws with 25 seconds left effectively sealed the Dayton win.
The Flyers closed the first half with a 7-0 run to lead 37-26 at the break. Butler went scoreless the final 4:15 in the first half, missing 12 of its last 13 shots.
Crutcher and Cunningham each had 11 points for the Flyers, who shot 58.3 percent in the first half.
Butler connected on just 10 of 30 shots in the opening half.
--Field Level Media
Dayton | Butler | |
Jalen Crutcher 20 | Scoring | Paul Jorgensen 18 |
Jalen Crutcher 3 | Assists | Kamar Baldwin 7 |
Josh Cunningham 8 | Rebounds | Nate Fowler 7 |
Jalen Crutcher 5 | Free Throws Made | Sean McDermott 5 |
Dwayne Cohill 2 | Steals | Henry Baddley 2 |
Jordan Davis 3 | Blocks | Nate Fowler 1 |