Saturday’s A10 semifinals at Capital One Arena saw Davidson continue their offensively efficient winning ways. It also saw Richmond get a trip to the championship game by snapping a nine game losing streak to Dayton .
Davidson 84 Saint Louis 69
Possessions: 69
Offensive efficiency: Davidson 122, Saint Louis 100
Davidson never trailed and led by as much as 23 in the second half. Wildcats were once again a model of offensive efficiency. Five players in double figures led by Foster Loyer with a game-high 21 points. The turnover rate was 12% and the eFG mark checked in at 60% (10 of 23 for 44% from three). Terrence Hargrove paced Saint Louis with 14 points. Yuri Collins added 13 and 7 assists. Gibson Jimerson, following a strong quarterfinal showing, was limited to 9 points, shooting 3 of 10 from the field. The Billikens had a low TO rate of 13%. That didn’t compensate for the inability of slowing down an efficient offensive machine currently running on all cylinders.
Richmond 68 Dayton 64
Possessions: 65
Offensive efficiency: Richmond 105, Dayton 98
Richmond trailed by 15 early in the second half and by 13 as late as 11:49 to play. Chris Mooney’s Spiders did not have a lead in this game until 3:32 remained. It was Richmond’s sixth win after trailing by 14 or more points this season. Dayton, seemingly in control for most of the contest, scored one field goal the final five minutes-a three pointer at the buzzer accounting for the final score. Grant Golden scored 18 points (including his 1,00th career marker) for Richmond. Matt Grace scored 10 points and was instrumental in the Spiders’ comeback. Toumani Camara led the way for Dayton with 17 points. Richmond had an outstanding TO rate of 8% while Dayton checked in at 19%. Richmond led 12-4 in points off turnovers. In a game where the numbers of both teams were very close, that proved to be a difference maker.
