DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team fell in a close, back-and-forth battle against the VCU in the regular season finale on Friday night, falling 68-62 in the Epicenter of College Basketball, UD Arena. 
 
UD (21-10, 12-6 A-10) had two attempts to tie the score or take the lead in the final four minutes, but VCU (24-7, 15-3 A-10) answered each time and ultimately pulled away to the six-point victory to stop the Flyers' six-game winning streak. 
 
Senior Javon Bennett led the Flyers with 17 points in his final game in UD Arena, while junior De'Shayne Montgomery registered his first double-double as a Flyer with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Amaël L'Etang added 10 of his own.
 
Dayton shot 45.5% (25-of-55) for the game but just 18.2% (4-of-22) from beyond the three-point line, while VCU shot 49% (25-of-51) overall and 38.1% (8-of-21) from three. Dayton won the rebound battle, 33-30, but committed more turnovers, 9-7.
 
GAME RECAP
First Half – Dayton 36, VCU 37

• Montgomery with a lay-up inside the paint to tie the game 2-2 at 18:45
• Bennett connects from deep, putting the Flyers up 5-3 at 18:16
• Sophomore Amaël L'Etang with a mid-range jumper to put the Flyers ahead 7-6 at the 16:48 mark
• Jones with an aggressive lay-up, extending the Flyers' lead to 9-6 at 16:27
• L'Etang with a layup, bringing the Flyer lead to 11-8 at 15:17
• L'Etang with an emphatic dunk to bring the Flyers ahead 13-8 at the 13:54
• Simon took it up the court himself for an old-fashioned 3-point play, cutting the VCU lead to 16-19 at 10:22
• Thomas with a powerful slam dunk, bringing the Flyers to 18-21 at 9:28 
• Javon Bennett connects from deep to tie the score at 21-21 8:56
• Derkack finishes at the rim to put the Flyers ahead 24-23 at 8:05
• Conner with a clean slam dunk after the fast break, bringing the Flyer lead to 26-23 at 7:22
• Thomas, with a second chance lay-up, brought the Flyer lead to 28-26 at 6:35
• Montgomery connects on a  jumper, bringing the Flyers within two, 31-33 at 3:20
• Conner with an easy free throw, tying it up 33-33 at 1:27
• Conner, with 3 free throws, makes to put the Flyers ahead 34-33 at 1:27
• Bennett beats the buzzer, bringing the Flyers to a 36-37 deficit right at the half 

 
Second Half – Dayton 62, VCU 68

• L'Etang with the first score of the second half, bringing the VCU lead to 38-39 at 19:02
• Javon Bennett connects on a triple to bring the Flyers within one, 41-42 at 18:24
• Keonte Jones with an acrobatic second chance lay up to bring the Flyers down by one, 43-44 at 16:24
• Montgomery with a lay up to put the Flyers back on top with a 45-44 lead at 14:19 
• Montgomery with a rim-rocking dunk on the fast break, putting the Flyers up 47-44 at 13:53
• Simon makes the layup to put the Flyers in front 49-47 at 13:10 
• Montgomery connects from three-point range to put the Flyers down 52-54 at 10:22
• Bennett with two free throws to bring the Flyers to a 54-58 deficit at 9:04 
• Bennett drives the ball for a lay-up to put the Flyers within four, 56-60 at 6:40
• Bennett takes the ball down the court to finish with a lay-up, to narrow the Rams' lead to 58-62 at 4:46 
• Montgomery with the rebound and putback, to put the Flyers down just two, 60-62 at 3:57
• L'Etang's layup brings the Flyers to a 62-64 deficit at 1:47

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
13 – points for De'Shayne Montgomery, along with 10 rebounds, marking his second career double-double, and first in a UD uniform.
17 – points for senior Javon Bennett, leading all scorers and giving him his 31^st career 10+ point performance in UD Arena.
36 – Combined points for the Flyers' four seniors of Bennett (17), Conner (5), Derkack (2), and Jones (4) on Senior Night.
45 – Career wins at home for Senior Javon Bennett in his three-year UD career
 
UP NEXT
Dayton embarks on its trek to an Atlantic 10 Championship Title next week at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Flyers are the No. 4 seed of the Championship and will play the winner of the No. 5 seed against either No. 12 or 13 on Friday at 2 p.m.