RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Daon Merritt, Jermaine Bucknor and Peter Thomas hit free throws in the final 31 seconds to help Richmond hold off Dayton 61-58 Saturday night.
The Flyers (13-7, 6-3 Atlantic 10) trailed 57-56 with 40.5 seconds left following two free throws by Trent Meacham. Merritt hit 1-of-2 with 31.5 seconds left. The Flyers' Monty Scott missed two free throws with 22 seconds left and Bucknor hit 1-of-2 with 19.8 remaining, giving the Spiders (11-9, 6-3) a 59-56 lead.
Scott had a turnover with 8 seconds to go and Merritt again hit 1-of-2 free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining. Thomas rebounded Merritt's miss and hit 1-of-2 with 4.8 remaining.
The Flyers led 27-23 at halftime after they scored the final 6 points of the half on a pair of 3-pointers by Jimmy Binnie.
Richmond took the lead for good 53-51 with 5:14 remaining on a jumper by Kevin Steenberge. Neither team led by more than 6 in the second half.
Merritt led the Spiders with 15 points and Bucknor added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Richmond outrebounded Dayton 37-34, the first time in 11 games the Spiders had outrebounded their opponents.
Meacham was the only Flyer in double figures with 13 points.
