AfterArizona and Iowa State combined for a chaotic finishto their Big 12 tournament semifinal on Friday night, Dayton and Saint Louis tried to top it on Saturday in the semifinals of the Atlantic-10 tournament.
The Flyers knocked off the Billikens 70-69 on a tip-in by Amaël L'Etang with 0.3 seconds to go. L'Etang got the rebound after Jordan Derkack tried a spinning layup in between two defenders following a drive to the basket.
But as you can see in this video below, that sequence was far from the only dramatic one in the final 30 seconds. After Dayton's Keonte Jones hit two free throws to cut the Billikens' lead to 66-65, Saint Louis turned the ball over with a pass out of bounds. The Flyers' Javon Bennett then missed a layup, but Jones got the rebound and kicked it out to Jacob Conner for a go-ahead 3-pointer.
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However, Dayton left Saint Louis star Robbie Avila open at the top of the key on the next possession and Avila buried the shot for a one-point lead. However, his shot went in with plenty of time for Derkack to drive the length of the floor.
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It's a second loss in three games for Saint Louis after the Billikens won the A-10 regular season title and it could have bubble ramifications for teams that are sweating out Selection Sunday.
Saint Louis should still be safely in the field as an at-large and VCU has been on the bubble. If the Rams beat Saint Joseph on Saturday afternoon in the other semifinal, they'll have a chance to get the league's automatic bid. But if Dayton wins the title game on Sunday, the Flyers could be a third A-10 team in March Madness at the likely expense of a power conference team.