College Basketball

Dayton stuns Ohio State as Craft misses buzzer-beater

BUFFALO — In the end, the ball was in the hands of Aaron Craft, because it had to be. Ohio State would rise or fall with what happened next.

Craft’s scoop drive had given the sixth-seeded Buckeyes a one-point lead with 15.5 seconds left, but Dayton’s Vee Sanford beat Craft and banked one in with 3.8 seconds to go to put the 11th-seeded Flyers ahead.

In a furious rush, with no timeout called, the ball was inbounded to Craft, who sped the length of the court and attacked, but his driving shot hit high off the backboard, glanced off the front rim and rolled away. As Craft fell to the floor in a heap, Dayton erupted, winning the Battle of Ohio 60-59 in a thrilling South Regional second-round game Thursday afternoon at First Niagara Center.

“It’s amazing how defense has kind of been my thing and it’s going to end with a kid making a game-winner on me,’’ Craft said.

The senior point guard, who played with heart and grit for Ohio State seemingly for a decade, finished with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and five turnovers. And the final, fateful missed shot.

“That’s just like how our season’s gone,’’ he said stoically. “I thought I got it up there high enough. Obviously I didn’t.’’

The Flyers (24-10) secured a precious NCAA Tournament victory against the big brother of the state, the top-dog Ohio State program that does not deem it necessary to ever schedule Dayton. This sort of loss is rare for Ohio State. How rare? It was the first time since 1962 the Buckeyes lost to an in-state rival in the tournament, when John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas lost to Cincinnati in the championship game.

From the start, it was clear Dayton was serious about knocking off the state of Ohio’s dominant team. The Flyers built an eight-point lead in the first half and led 43-35 with 13:37 left. A 10-0 run led by Sam Thomson put Ohio State ahead 45-43 and it became a fight to the finish.

Sanford (10 points) was one of three double-figure scorers for the Flyers, with Dyshawn Pierre (12 points) and Devin Oliver (11) fueling what always is a balanced Dayton attack. Thompson led Ohio State with 18 points but it was Craft who did a little bit of everything but not quite enough. Down by a point, Dayton coach Archie Miller called a timeout with 11 seconds remaining and designed a play for Sanford, a 6-foot-4 senior. He got a step on Craft and calmly nailed the game-winner.

“We’ve probably drawn up a play like that and I messed it up previously,’’ Sanford said, “but he kept his trust in me and I’m just grateful the shot went in.’’

There was plenty of Ohio State infiltrating the Dayton program. Miller was an assistant for the Buckeyes for two years (2007 and 2008) for Thad Matta. Dayton’s leading scorer, Jordan Sibert, played two seasons at Ohio State before transferring.

“I don’t think we came in here like it was a circus act,’’ Miller said. “I don’t think we came in here trying to hopefully hang in there and go home, boy it was a great run. It wasn’t about Ohio State or where they’re from or blah, blah, blah. It was about us.’’