DAYTON, Ohio _ The No. 6 Dayton Flyers improved to 10-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference for the first time in school history, clinching a 71-65 victory against Saint Louis at the free-throw line Saturday at UD Arena.
Jalen Crutcher, Trey Landers and Rodney Chatman combined to make 6 of 8 free throws in the final 64 seconds.
Dayton (21-2, 10-0) won its 12th straight game. It leads Rhode Island by one game in the A-10. The Flyers and Rams meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena.
Saint Louis led this game for only 30 seconds, taking a 49-48 lead on a basket by Hasahn French with 10:55 to play. Crutcher gave Dayton the lead on a layup with 10:25 to play, and the Flyers led the rest of the way.
Crutcher and Obi Toppin each scored 17. Chatman added nine.
Each team shot 49% from the field. Dayton outscored Saint Louis 20-10 at the free-throw line. Saint Louis had a 33-27 rebounding advantage. Dayton had six turnovers. Saint Louis had 13.
The Flyers scored four points in the last 45 seconds to build a 39-31 halftime lead.
Ryan Mikesell made 2 of 2 free throws with 45 seconds to play. Then a Saint Louis turnover led to a layup by Toppin with 29 seconds remaining.
Toppin opened the game with a 3-pointer and finished the first half with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Mikesell and Chatman each scored six.
Dayton has trailed at halftime in only one game this season, and that was Jan. 17 at Saint Louis. The Flyers overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to win that game 78-76 in overtime on a last-second 3-pointer by Crutcher.
Dayton did not trail in the first half this time and led by as many as 10 points. Dayton shot 52% from the field in the half. Saint Louis shot 44%. Each team made 3 of 8 3-pointers. Dayton outscored Saint Louis 10-6 at the free-throw line.
Jordan Goodwin scored 11 points for Saint Louis. Dayton, which was outrebounded 45-33 in the first game, had a 16-13 rebounding advantage.
