Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dayton kept Saint Louis down and added its name to the NCAA tournament mix, too.
"I'm not even sure they knew Saint Louis was ranked," coach Archie Miller said after the Flyers upset the 17th-ranked Billikens and spoiled senior night with a 72-67 victory Wednesday night. "It wasn't about playing a ranked team or playing for a bubble or playing for a tournament.
"It was about fighting Saint Louis in a big environment because we knew if we wouldn't we were going to get punched out."
Reserve Jalen Robinson scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Dayton (21-9, 9-6 Atlantic 10), including two key 3-pointers in the put-away 16-2 run, to help hand the Billikens their third straight loss.
"Just all around we made play after play," said Jordan Sibert, who led Dayton with 14 points. "It gave us the spark to keep it going."
The Billikens still clinched at least a tie for a second straight Atlantic 10 title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament anyway when George Washington beat Saint Joseph's 76-71 on Wednesday night. After the home finale, Saint Louis honored its five senior starters in a low-key ceremony.
Sibert had three of the Flyers' six 3-pointers, while Dyshawn Pierre had 11 points and Devin Oliver had nine points and nine rebounds.
"I wouldn't call it the game of my life," said freshman Kendall Pollard, who added nine points in 10 minutes. "But it was pretty fun out there just trying to bring energy to the team and bring a spark and bring the team back."
Saint Louis won a school-record 19 straight before getting upset by Duquesne at home last week and then lost at VCU on Saturday. This is the school's first three-game losing streak since February 2011.
Dwayne Evans had 18 points and nine rebounds and Mike McCall Jr. added 10 points for Saint Louis, which wraps up the regular season Sunday at Massachusetts. Jordair Jett, who had been averaging 17.6 points in conference play, was held to nine points.
Dayton began celebrating its second victory over a Top 25 team near the end of the 16-2 run that made it 67-59 lead with 3:38 to play. Robinson had two 3-pointers, Siebert had five points and Oliver capped the run with a three-point play.
Saint Louis cut the deficit to 68-67 when Evans scored in the lane with 33 seconds to go. Khari Price and Sibert were 4 for 4 at the free throw line the rest of the way and Loe missed a 3-pointer with a chance to tie it with 18 seconds left.
Dayton was 11 for 11 at the free throw line in the second half while Saint Louis was just 8 for 15.
Dayton beat then-No. 11 Gonzaga in the Maui Invitational in November. The Flyers finish the regular season Saturday at home against Richmond.
"We have high character guys and I think 1 through 12 each guy showed you that they're all about the right things," Miller said. "They can talk about bubbles and tournaments, but until that Sunday no one really knows what's going on.
"So what we're going to focus on is really try to honor our seniors over the next 48 hours in practice. We've got to be ready to go on Saturday."
Saint Louis was 5 for 10 from 3-point range after Jake Barnett connected in the opening minute of the second half for a 42-32 lead — the largest of the game. But the Billikens made only one of their last 12 from long distance.
The school band played the New Zealand national anthem for Saint Louis center Rob Loe, who then scored the first five points of the game in the opening minute. He is one the five senior starters who are part of the program's all-time winningest class with 91 victories.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
