The second round of the NIT saw one A10 team advance. Dayton and George Mason saw their respective seasons end on Saturday. A day later Loyola Chicago extended theirs in a West coast thriller.
Chattanooga 87 Dayton 72
Both teams hit from downtown. Host Chattanooga shot 10 of 22 (46%) compared to Dayton’s 12 of 28 (43%). The difference proved to be inside where coach Dan Earl’s group shot 67% while the Flyers managed just a 42% showing. Overall, Chattanooga shot 57%, the highest yielded by the Flyer defense all season. The Flyers never led but had the deficit to two possessions late. Chattanooga then went on an 8-0 run to seal the verdict. Dayton had four players in double-figures led by Nate Santos with 18 points, Honor Huff of Chattanooga scored a game high 26 points (5 of 10 from three). Chattanooga improved to 26-9 while Anthony Grant’s Flyers closed the campaign at 23-11.
Bradley 75 George Mason 67
The old axiom’ good shooting makes up for a multiple of sins’ can be applied here. George Mason forced the visiting Braves into 16 turnovers, an excessively high 24% turnover rate. Bradley compensated by hitting 13 of 29 (45%) from beyond the arc. The host Patriots trailed by as much as 18 in the second half before rallying to get within one possession. Bradley regrouped, responded and held on. Christian Davis and Corey Thomas of Bradley led the way with 21 points while KD Johnson paced the Patriots with 16. Bradley, coached by Brian Wardle, improved to 28-8 while the Patriots ended a historic season at 27-9. Among their accomplishments, Tony Skinn’s group earned a share of the A10 regular season title for the first time.
Loyola Chicago 77 San Francisco 76
Care of the ball was the order in this back and forth contest as the two teams combined for 10 turnovers-Loyola four and USF six. The result was two very efficient offenses with Loyola the better with a 115-113 advantage. In a game with eight ties and 14 lead changes, the Dons held a three point lead with just under three minutes left. Drew Valentine’s Ramblers regained the lead as Jayden Dawson scored two of his team and career-high 35 points on a driving layup with 56 seconds remaining. USF’s Malik Thomas, a perfect 17 of 17 from the charity stripe, scored a game-high 36 points. Loyola improved to 24-11 while Chris Gerlufsen’s Dons finished 25-10. Kent State will visit Loyola on Wednesday in an NIT quarterfinal matchup. It will be the first postseason game Loyola hosted since the 2015 CBI.
