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Dayton's Jalen Robinson is surrounded by the Butler defense during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Atlantic 10 Conference men's tournament in New York, Thursday, March 14, …

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Flyers fall in first round of tourney

Updated: Thursday, 14 Mar 2013, 5:28 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 14 Mar 2013, 5:13 PM EDT

NEW YORK, NY (AP) - Rotnei Clarke scored 21 points, and Butler advanced at the Atlantic 10 tournament with a 73-67 first-round victory over Dayton on Thursday.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs will need to win four games in four days if they want a conference tourney title in their first -- and perhaps last -- season in the A-10.

Clarke shot 6 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc and added five assists. Fellow senior Andrew Smith had 18 points and six rebounds.

Butler was 10 for 24 on 3-point tries, while the Flyers attempted just four. Josh Benson had 18 points to lead 12th-seeded Dayton (17-14, 7-9).

The Bulldogs (25-7, 11-5) will face fourth-seeded La Salle in Friday's quarterfinals.

Butler, the national runner-up in 2010 and '11, could be headed along with Dayton to join the breakaway Big East basketball schools.