La Salle men’s basketball team rallies in second half to stun Dayton, 62-60

Freshman point guard Khalil Brantley led the way with 17 points as La Salle (8-18, 3-13 Atlantic 10 Conference) overcame a slow start against Dayton (20-9, 12-4) to pull out a shocking 62-60 win at Tom Gola Arena.

The Explorers’ victory could prove to be a spoiler for the Flyers’ chances of an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, as Dayton is considered one of the top teams on the bubble for the March event.

On a Senior Day game honoring Clifton Moore, Jack Clark, Kyle Thompson, and Andrew Lafond, Moore, with 16 points, and Clark, who added 13, did their part to contribute to a 43 point second half. La Salle had only 19 points in the opening half.

“Think about how challenging it must be for them to come every day after losses and bring positive energy to the team, bring positive energy in the locker room, constantly reinforce our message,” La Salle coach Ashley Howard said of the seniors. “You know, blessed to those who can believe in what they don’t see. We talk about doing all of these little things and details that will eventually help us be the program we want to be, and those two guys [Kyle Thompson and Andrew Lafond] live it every day. They don’t get to play, and for their Senior Day, it was only right to give them the opportunity.”

Dayton, as a team, was consistent, scoring 30 points in each half, paced by another freshman, DaRon Holmes II, who led all scorers with 18 points.

The Flyers, however, were unable to match the momentum of La Salle. Brantley scored 15 points in the second half, helping to set off a remarkable 17-0 Explorers run. After hitting a three-pointer to put La Salle ahead with 12 minutes, 29 seconds to play, Brantley pumped his fist as Explorers fans went wild.

In the closing seconds of the game, when the Explorers were scrambling to keep their extremely narrow lead, Brantley was screaming encouragement to his teammates from the bench.

After a scuffle between the two teams, a double-technical was assessed to each side along with a personal foul on Dayton that sent Moore to the line for a one-and-one with 0.1 seconds remaining. Moore was able to successfully make the first one before deliberately missing the second as time expired.

La Salle fans waved goodbye to Dayton at the end, symbolically, at least, referring to a farewell to the team’s chances of making the NCAA tournament.

However, even without an at-large invitation, the Flyers can still claim an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning the A-10 tournament.

Moore said after the game that the victory was “special” for the seniors, especially with the number of close losses the Explorers have suffered this season.

“It’s nice to be on the other side of things,” Moore said.