FLYERS WIN A-10 TITLE
UD topples VCU at senior night sellout to win conference.
Senior Kyle Davis DAYTON — jumped onto the press-row table. Then he dove into the student section. He knew the drill. He celebrated an Atlantic 10 championship a year ago after a tense victory over Virginia Commonwealth. Now he did it again — only this one is so much sweeter because the Dayton Flyers will share it with no one.
Dayton led from start to finish against VCU on Wednesday at UD Arena, but it was never easy and it wasn’t over until the final minutes when UD’s seniors stepped to the line and secured a 79-72 victory with free throws.
“This is about as proud as you can be of a team,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said.
Dayton (24-5, 15-2) clinched its first outright A-10 title and its second title in a row — it shared the championship with VCU and St. Bonaventure last season — with a strong performance on offense and just enough defensive pressure in the final minutes to stop the Rams. The Flyers won in front of a sellout crowd of 13,455, breaking UD’s single-season average attendance mark.
“It was incredible to play in front of these fans in this arena,” Miller said. “We’ve had it all year long. The attendance record being broken this year is telling. Playing for these type of stakes is what they deserve.”
All four seniors, who won their 102nd game and closed their careers at UD Arena with their 14th straight home win, scored in double figures. Charles Cooke and Scoochie Smith each scored 20 points. Kyle Davis had 12 points. Kendall Pollard scored 11.
Mo Alie-Cox led VCU (23-7, 13-4) with 23 points. Justin Tillman scored 18. The Rams dominated inside but shot 2 of 15 from 3-point range. The Flyers made 6 of 15 3-pointers.