By Sean Kennedy
Saint Joseph’s 70, Dayton 67
This game was billed as the probable deciding factor between two teams on the tournament bubble: the winner would dance while the loser would be sent home. With the stakes so high between two fairly evenly matched foes, it stood to reason this game would come down to the wire, and boy, did it ever live up to that billing. The two teams fought tooth and nail the entire way, with neither team leading by more than 6 points throughout the game. In the final minute, a Matt Kavanaugh jumper gave the Flyers a one-point lead, which is when Hawks senior Langston Galloway decided he wanted to see what all this NCAA tournament hype was about. With the team down to their final possession before they would have needed to start fouling, Galloway pulled off a Jordan-esque step-back three from the top of the key, sinking it to win the game for St. Joe’s. With the win, the Hawks are all but set in the tournament field next weekend, the first trip to the big dance for Galloway and this group of seniors.
Really, Galloway had put the team on his back throughout the game, hitting 6 threes in total on his way to a game-high 31 points. The Hawks hope he stays hot when they take on St. Bonaventure in the A-10 semifinals Saturday afternoon. The Bonnies had some late-game heroics of their own in upsetting Saint Louis, as Jordan Gathers drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to give them the victory. The Hawks defeated St. Bonaventure behind a big night from Galloway, as he matched Bonnies leading scorer shot for shot with the seniors each scoring 27 points. Having two A-10 tournament wins under their belt already, and needing just two more to earn that automatic tournament bid, the Bonnies will surely be a team possessed when they take the court Saturday. The Hawks can’t let the thrill of their Dayton win make them complacent. You never can be too sure with these selection committees.
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