Dayton defeats Fordham, advances to Atlantic 10 Championship game

BROOKLYN, NY — The Dayton Flyers advanced to the finals of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship Saturday afternoon defeating the Fordham Rams, 78-68, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

>>Dayton will face Fordham Saturday in the Atlantic 10 semifinals

Toumani Camara led the way with 28 points on 12-13 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. DaRon Holmes II added 20 and had six boards. Malachi Smith scored 11 points and dished out seven assists. Mustapha Amzil added nine points.

The Flyers will play VCU Sunday afternoon and the winner will get an automatic bid into this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Each team won on each other’s home court splitting the regular season series.

Dayton improves to 22-11 overall.

>>Camara’s double-double helps Dayton advance to A-10 semifinals

UD led, 36-33, at halftime and jumped to a six-point lead, 41-35, on an alleyoop dunk from Smith to Camara and three-pointer by Mustapha Amzil. But the Rams scored nine straight points to take a 44-41 advantage.

Amzil buried another three and R.J. Blakney scored to put the Flyers ahead for good, 50-48, with 12:32 remaining.

Fordham got as close as one point twice, including 59-58, with 6:13 left. But Holmes scored six straight points and Amzil’s third trey increased it to 68-58 with 3:38 to play.

Camara sealed the game scoring nine of Dayton’s last 10 points of the game.

>>PREVOUS COVERAGE: Holmes matches career-high in points as Dayton beats Fordham on road

After the game, Coach Anthony Grant said Camara and Holmes have done it all year.

“We needed it today,” he told WHIO Radio’s Larry Hansgen. “Our guys understood that we had an advantage. Great job by their teammates being able to get them the ball in position to be successful.”

Grant was also proud of the team’s effort.

“Our guys showed a lot of heart,” he said. “A lot of toughness, a lot of grit and determination to be able to get this win.”

He also said the atmosphere inside the Barclays Center was unbelievable Saturday.

“Great crowd,” he said. “This A-10 Basketball.”

>>Dayton No. 2 seed in this week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament in Brooklyn

We will be THE spot for Dayton Flyers coverage tomorrow.

• 11:30 a.m.- The Orange Zone Hoops Edition
• 12 p.m.- Bud Light Pregame Show on WHIO Radio
• 1 p.m.- The game will be on both Channel 7 and WHIO Radio

You can also listen to the game here at WHIO.com.

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