BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It came down to free throws, and Drake Diener was perfect, propelling DePaul to the NCAA Tournament's second round for the first time in 15 years.
Diener scored 10 of his career-high 28 points in the second overtime, sparking the Blue Demons to a 76-69 victory Thursday night over Dayton. The junior guard was particularly strong from the foul line, hitting all eight attempts in the second overtime and all 10 in the game.
"We fought them tooth and nail, and it came down to heart," DePaul coach Dave Leitao said.
Actually, it came down to who could sink a foul shot.
DePaul finished 23-of-40 from the line, including Andre Brown, who missed all 10. Dayton hit only 12-of-23 attempts.
"We were shooting poorly from the line, but what kept us in was they were missing them, too," Diener said. "Seeing one guy keep missing makes you think more, but once we started hitting a couple, it stabilized everything."
The seventh-seeded Blue Demons (22-9) advanced to play second-seeded Connecticut on Saturday in the Phoenix Regional. The game will pit Leitao against former mentor Jim Calhoun, whose team beat Vermont 70-53.
Leitao played for Calhoun at Northeastern, and was an assistant under him at Northeastern and Connecticut before being hired by DePaul two years ago.
DePaul ended a four-game tournament losing streak, and won for the first time since beating Memphis State 66-63 in 1989.
Ramod Marshall had 17 points for the Flyers (24-9), who lost their fourth straight tournament game. They haven't won since beating Illinois in 1990.
In a game that featured 11 lead changes, the Blue Demons went ahead for good at 64-63 when Diener hit two free throws with 2:13 left in the second overtime.
After Dayton's Mark Jones hit a running jumper with 33 seconds left to cut the lead to 71-69, Diener sealed the victory by hitting two free throws with 31.4 seconds remaining.
Diener was the last player Dayton coach Brian Gregory wanted on the line.
"We fouled them twice in a row, fouling Drake, and that's like giving them a layup," Gregory said.
And he could only shake his head regarding the Flyers' troubles from the line.
"When games are tight you have to bear down and make free throws," Gregory said. "We probably would have won the game easily if we would have had made our free throws."
Delonte Holland added 13 points and 14 rebounds for DePaul, which has won seven of eight -- three of those victories were in overtime.
The game was both compelling and comical, as both teams squandered chances to win.
Dayton had the final possession at the end of regulation and the first overtime, but couldn't put it away. Marshall's awkward 3-point attempt fell off the side of the rim at the end of regulation, which ended tied at 55.
Tied at 59 with time running out in the first overtime, Monty Scott's 3-point attempt for Dayton from the corner fell short. DePaul got the ball back with 0.4 seconds left, but Quemont Greer's long inbounds pass hit off the bottom of the scoreboard suspended above center court.
That gave Dayton the ball back at DePaul's end of the court. But Frank Iguodala was hit from behind by Holland and couldn't control Marshall's inbound pass into the paint.
Now Leitao must look ahead to facing Calhoun. Before taking over at DePaul, Leitao made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances as Calhoun's assistant, including 1999, when Connecticut won the championship.
"I've been avoiding even thinking of it, and I'm trying to avoid it for the next few hours," Leitao said. "I don't like it. And I don't want to play it, but it'll be very emotional."
It was a sloppy first half, which Dayton led 25-22 despite going 11-for-30 from the field. The Flyers missed 13 of their first 19 shots.
Trouble was, DePaul shot even worse, going 9-for-27, including a seven-minute stretch without a point. Marlon Brumfield finally ended the drought by hitting a six-footer from the baseline to cut Dayton's lead to 12-7 midway through the first half.
DePaul guard and sixth man LeVar Seals missed the game, serving a one-game suspension for punching Cincinnati's Tony Bobbitt in the groin during last weekend's Conference USA championship game.
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