RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Dayton men's basketball team couldn't climb all the way out of the 19-point hole VCU put them in, as the Flyers fell in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship, 73-68.

UD fell behind by double-digits just minutes into the contest, and found itself down 36-55 with 9:11 left in the game.  That's when Dayton battled back, making it a six-point margin in less than six minutes.  But the closest the Flyers got was the final five-point margin.

Jalen Crutcher led UD with 21 points.  Jordy Tshimanga had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Ibi Watson also added 10 points.  Ram guard Bones Hyland led all scorers with 30 points.

Dayton falls to 14-9 on the season, while VCU improves to 18-6.  The Rams will play the winner of Davidson and George Mason in Saturday night's semifinals.

The A-10 Championship Game will be played at the University of Dayton Arena on Sunday, March 14.  Tip-off is 1 p.m. ET.

GAME BREAKDOWN
First Half:  VCU 37, Dayton 26

• VCU jumped on Flyers, pushing out to an 11-1 lead in the game's first four minutes.
• Dayton cut it to five (13-8), but an 8-0 run by the Rams took the advantage back to double digits.
• The Flyers were able to make it a seven-point game twice inside the last two minutes of the half, but VCU scored the last five points of the half.
• UD shot 40% from the floor, while VCU shot 57%, but the most telling stat was in the turnover column.  Dayton committed 11 turnovers that led to 12 VCU points-off-turnovers.
• Jalen Crutcher led the Flyers will eight points.  Jordy Tshimanga added six, with six rebounds.

Second Half:  VCU 73, Dayton 68

• A Rodney Chatman three-pointer on Dayton's second possession cut the gap to eight, 37-28.
• VCU responded and the margin would not fall under 10 for just over 10 minutes.
• The Rams led 55-36 with 11:19 to go, but Dayton dug down and began its comeback.
• The Flyers forced a VCU timeout with 4:26 left when they chopped the difference to (62-52).
• An Ibi Watson three and Jalen Crutcher free throw made it a six-point game (62-56) at the 3:49 mark.
• Dayton would make it a two-possession game three more times, but every time the Rams would score on the next possession.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Jalen Crutcher's 21-point game was the 22nd of his career.  He now has 1,587 points, 16th all-time at Dayton.
• Jordy Tshimanga's 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes were his second career doubl-double.  His first was also against VCU.
• Ibi Watson had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.
• Crutcher, Watson and Mustapha Amzil each had two assists.
• Amzil only scored three points, but his two assists and six rebounds contributed to his team-leading +10 mark in the +/- efficiency rating.
• Dayton shot 41% from the field, while VCU shot 53%.
• The Flyers committed 21 turnovers, which led to 22 points off turnovers for the Rams.