NCAA News Wire
Dayton 60, Ohio State 59
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Dayton guard Vee Sanford banked in a running right-handed game winner with 3.8 seconds left as the Flyers upset sixth-seeded Ohio State 60-59 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Coming out of a Dayton timeout, Sanford, who was 3-of-10 shooting before his final field goal, answered Aaron Craft’s layup with 17.1 seconds remaining. Craft received the inbounds pass and dashed 80 feet and into the lane, releasing an 8-footer that rimmed out at the buzzer.
Ohio State took a 57-55 lead with 51.5 seconds remaining, the 12th lead change in the game, only to cough it up on the other end when forward Dyshawn Pierre was fouled on a 3-point attempt and drained all three free throws.
Pierre led the Flyers with 12 points and eight rebounds. Sanford had 10 points, four turnovers and three assists.
Craft had 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals with five turnovers for Ohio State. Forward Sam Thompson paced the Buckeyes with 18 points.
Separated by only 70 miles on Interstate 70, Dayton and Ohio State were separated by just three points after the first half.
Dayton, the No. 11 seed in the South Region, led No. 6 seed Ohio State 33-30 at halftime.
The Buckeyes (25-9) raced out to a 5-0 lead, but Oliver’s dunk and 3-pointer highlighted an 11-2 Dayton run that gave the Flyers (23-10) a 13-9 lead.
Ohio State answered with a 10-2 run led by Craft’s 3-point play and pair of free throws. Pierce’s 3-pointer sparked a 10-2 Dayton run near the end of the half as the Flyers regained the lead.
NOTES: The Buckeyes lead the series, 6-4. Before Thursday’s game, the previous meeting was a 74-63 Buckeyes win over the Flyers in the quarterfinals of the 2008 NIT. … For the first time in five years, Ohio State enters the field with a region ranking worse than a No. 2 seed. … Dayton is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2009. The Flyers were the national runner-up in 1967. … Dayton is 23-11 in the past seven years against teams from power conferences.
