After a tough road loss to the Richmond Spiders on Wednesday night, VCU returned to the Siegel Center on Saturday looking to grab a revenge win against the Dayton Flyers. The Rams did just that, in thrilling fashion, with an 88-84 overtime victory.
Justin Tillman was the difference maker for VCU, putting up a total of 37 points (7 were of the 9 points VCU scored in overtime). Justin shot 17-25 overall, grabbing 8 rebounds.
Sean Mobley put up 8 points, and logged 4 assists. His two 3 pointers as well as a pair of jumpers by Marcus Santos-Silva helped VCU to jump ahead to a 72-57 lead with 7:53 remaining.
VCU would go on a 14-0 scoring run with 6:00 minutes remaining in the game. Dayton’s freshman guards Jordan Davis and Jalen Crutcher helped the Flyers climb back within reach, with Josh Cunningham hitting a layup before the end of regulation to tie it up.
In overtime, Justin Tillman delivered, scoring the first 7 points for VCU, giving the Rams the edge with :26 seconds remaining. Eventually VCU senior Johnny Williams would hit two critical free throws in the last 3 seconds of the game to seal the victory.
Tonight was Dayton Head Coach Anthony Grant’s first return to the Siegel Center since losing to the Rams in 2013 during his tenure as head coach at Alabama. Grant, as head coach at VCU, helped the Rams to two NCAA tournament appearances in 2007 and 2009.
VCU (15-10, 7-5 A-10) will stay in Richmond for a few days to prepare for a Valentine’s Day showdown at the Siegel Center against the Davidson Wildcats (13-10, 8-4 A-10) on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.
