PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Senior Javon Bennett poured in a season-high 27 points to carry the University of Dayton men's basketball team to the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinal game, as the Flyers topped St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinal round 68-63 at PPG Paints Arena on Friday afternoon.
 
Bennett scored 27 points while shooting 75% (8-of-12) from the floor and 60% (6-of-10) from behind the three-point line to lead UD (22-10, 12-6 A-10) to the five-point victory over SBU (17-17, 4-14 A-10).
 
Bennett's season-high paced all players, while fellow senior Jordan Derkack came up big with 15 points and five rebounds, with 10 of his points coming from the free throw line. Sophomore Amaël  L'Etang registered his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 boards.
 
Dayton shot 34.6% (18-of-52) from the field overall and 41.7% (10-of-24) from behind the three-point line, while St. Bonaventure was 45.7% (21-of-46) overall from the floor and 30% (3-of-10) from three. The biggest difference came at the charity stripe, as the Flyers shot 78.6% (22-of-28) from the line, including 85.7% (18-of-21) in the second half, while the Bonnies were just 18-of-28 for 64.3%.

GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 30, St. Bonaventure 27

• Sophomore Amaël L'Etang got the Flyers on the board first with a triple to go ahead 3-0.
• Senior Javon Bennett followed suit with a three of his own to make it a 6-0 advantage.
• Senior Jordan Derkack snapped a scoring drought of over five minutes with a bucket in the paint to keep UD ahead 8-7 with 12:48 to go.
• L'Etang finished an offensive rebound to give the Flyers a one-point advantage, 10-9, with 11:47 remaining in the half.
• A three from Bennett knotted the game at 13-13 with 10:35 remaining
• UD regained the lead when L'Etang finished at the rim to go ahead 15-13.
• Bennett hit his third three of the half to push the Flyers back in from 18-15 with 6:40 left in the half.
• Redshirt sophomore Jaiun Simon followed suit with a three of his own to put Dayton ahead 21-15 with just under six remaining.
• Bennett connected on yet another three-pointer to push the Flyers ahead 25-22 with 3:08 to go.
• Derkack put in a pair of free throws to make Dayton's lead 27-23.
• Senior Keonte Jones finished his first basket of the game with just over a minute remaining to put UD up 29-25.
• Derkack connected on a free throw after the Bonnies made a pair to bring the game to its halftime score of 30-27.

 
Second Half – Dayton 68, St. Bonaventure 63

• The two sides traded barbs to start the second half, but a pair of free throws from Jones and a three-pointer from L'Etang put Dayton ahead 35-32.
• Five straight points put the Bonnies ahead, but another three from Bennett gave UD the lead again at 38-37.
• Another Bennett triple put the Flyers in front 42-39 with 13:45 to go.
• Simon pushed Dayton back ahead by three with a pair of free throws to make the score 44-41.
• After a three from St. Bonaventure tied the game, Derkack dialed up a three-pointer from the top of the key to go back ahead 47-44.
• Sophomore Bryce Heard scored his first bucket of the game on an inbounds play, finishing at the hoop to put Dayton ahead 49-46 with 10:48 to go.
• Junior De'Shayne Montgomery got in the score column for the first time thanks to an old-fashioned three-point play, putting the Flyers up 52-47.
• Bennett finished through contact in the paint to make it a 54-49 with 7:51 to go.
• Bennett added four of the next five Flyer points from the charity stripe, giving UD a 59-55 lead with 4:43 remaining.
• With 3:41 to go, Bennett made another tough shot in the paint to put Dayton ahead 63-55.
• Only one field goal was made the rest of the game, as Derkack made five of six free throws down the stretch and SBU went four of seven.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
37 – rebounds for Dayton, its most as a team since having 39 against Davidson on Feb. 15
27 – points for Javon Bennett, a new season-high
22 – free throws made by the Flyers, their 16^th game of 20+ free throws this season
10 – made free throws for Jordan Derkack, his third time making 10+ free throws this season
7 – rebounds for Jaiun Simon, his third game this season with 7+ boards
6 – double-doubles this season for Amaël L'Etang, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds
4 – assists for Keonte Jones, his sixth 4+ assist performance of the season

UP NEXT
Dayton returns to action on Saturday, March 14 when it takes on No. 1 seed Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinal at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. The game will tip at 1 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.