We have a major upset in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament. Dayton nearly blew a big lead, but held on to upset No. 1 seed Xavier, 68-67. Luke Fabrizius provided the winning margin with two free throws with 5.8 seconds left, and Tu Holloway missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, allowing the Flyers to survive.
And survive is exactly what they did. Dayton took a 21-3 lead to start the game and led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but Xavier rallied and eventually tied the score at 64 with a Holloway layup with 2:48 remaining. Holloway then put Dayton ahead for the first time, scoring a layup and drawing a foul with 25 seconds left. The Flyers then worked the clock down and missed a jumper, but Fabrizius grabbed the rebound and was clobbered in the lane before hitting two free throws.
Dayton now improves to 21-12 on the year, and at least moves to the fringes of the NCAA Tournament bubble, with a winnable game against either No. 4 seed Duquense or No. 12 seed St. Joseph's in the semifinals. Xavier falls to 24-7, but its spot in the field is safe.