SLU coughs up 13-point lead in 53-50 loss to Dayton
DAYTON, Ohio -- Trey Landers scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made key plays down the stretch to help Dayton rally from a 13-point second-half deficit on Tuesday night to beat Saint Louis 53-50.
Kostas Antetokounmpo had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for Dayton (13-14, 7-8 Atlantic 10).
The Flyers used a 17-4 run to tie it at 37-all with 10 minutes to play and it was tied four more times before Jordan Davis hit a 3 to give the Flyers their first lead since midway through the first half. Landers' tip-in made it 50-45 with 1:45 to play, but Hasahn French hit a jumper and Aaron Hines made a layup to pull Saint Louis within two. Landers found Josh Cunningham for a dunk with 25 seconds left and then had a steal on the Billikens' next possession as Dayton held on.
French, a freshman, had 12 of Saint Louis' last 13 points and finished with a season-high 20 on 10-of-15 shooting.
The Flyers pulled within one game of the fourth-place Billikens (15-13, 8-7) in the conference standings, but are also a half-game behind VCU, Saint Joseph's and Richmond (all 7-7). The top four teams get a two-game bye into the A-10 Tournament quarterfinals.
Landers and Jalen Crutcher hit 3s on Dayton's first two possessions, but the Flyers missed 11 of their next 14 field-goal attempts and committed eight first-half turnovers as Saint Louis took a nine-point lead into the break. Javon Bess and French made back-to-back jumpers to make it 33-20 with 18 minutes left.
