Dayton needs a win and some help to escape bottom four seed

Flyers close regular season at home against GW

The Dayton Flyers still don't know where they'll land in the Atlantic 10 tournament. A loss at home to George Washington at 3 p.m. Saturday would force them to play in the opening round March 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., with the other three teams at the bottom of the standings.

Dayton's 71-53 loss to La Salle on Wednesday at Tom Gola Arena dropped it into a four-way tie for ninth. The Flyers (13-16 overall) sit at 7-10 in the conference, along with La Salle, Duquesne and George Washington. Massachusetts and Fordham (both 4-13) already have clinched the bottom two seeds.

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The best-case scenario for Dayton would include a victory over George Washington and a loss by either La Salle or Duquesne. Dayton could earn the No. 10 seed if that happens and avoid playing No. 1 seed Rhode Island in the quarterfinals on Friday if it advances that far.

The Flyers have won four straight games at home, though with the way they played against La Salle, there’s no guarantee of that trend continuing.

“Every day you get a chance to compete,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “We have a choice to make. That’s the thing I tell the guys every day. You have a choice to make in who you want to be. This is not promised to anybody. This goes by fast. At the University of Dayton, there’s an expectation, a responsibility, an obligation. Our guys have it pretty good. They have to understand what comes with that.”

Roster news: Dayton Flyers junior forward Xeyrius Williams did not travel with the team to Philadelphia. UD announced Williams "is out indefinitely due to ongoing treatment for a back injury suffered earlier in the season."

Williams has not played since Feb. 14 at George Mason. He missed five games earlier this season with a back injury.

Last game: Dayton seniors Darrell Davis and Joey Gruden and three student managers will be honored during Senior Day festivities before the game at approximately 2:45 p.m. Saturday.

Dayton has seven straight wins against the Colonials at UD Arena. George Washington beat the Flyers 87-81 in the regular-season finale last season in Washington. The Colonials (14-16, 7-10) beat Fordham 72-56 Wednesday. Yuta Watanabe scored a career-high 31 points.

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Around the A-10: George Mason's Ian Boyd is enjoying a run of buzzer beaters perhaps unequaled in NCAA history. He won a game at the buzzer Wednesday for the third game in a row. His tip-in in the final second lifted the Patriots to an 81-80 victory at Virginia Commonwealth.

Boyd beat Massachusetts with a layup in overtime Saturday. In the previous game, he hit a 3-pointer to beat St. Joseph’s.

George Mason (15-15, 9-8) moved into a tie for fourth place with Saint Louis and St. Joseph’s.

• St. Bonaventure (23-6, 13-4) wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the A-10 tournament with a victory in what will go down as the A-10 game of the year. The Bonnies beat Davidson 117-113 in triple overtime Tuesday in Olean, N.Y.

The Wildcats (17-11, 12-5) fell to third place, and they will get the No. 3 seed in the tournament.

Duquesne (16-14, 7-10) ended a six-game losing streak with a 76-69 victory against Saint Louis (16-14, 9-8).

• UMass (11-19, 4-13) lost its sixth straight game, 90-65 at Richmond (10-19, 8-9).

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