Flyers are a way to beat UNLV on off-shooting night

• A season ago, Virginia Commonwealth’s Zeb Jackson missed a three-pointer from the corner at the second-half buzzer. The Dayton Flyers won 91-86 in overtime.

• In 2023, Loyola Chicago’s Philip Alston sent a game into overtime with a 3-pointer from the same point, although Dayton won 85-81.

• In 2016, with Dayton center Steve McElvene running toward him, Virginia Commonwealth’s Melvin Johnson missed a game-winning 3-pointer from that corner in the final regular game of the 2016 season. The Flyers won 68-67 and secured a share of the Atlantic 10 Conference championship.

Dayton found itself in a similar situation Tuesday. After Malachi Smith’s 3-point play gave the Flyers a one-point lead with eight seconds left, UNLV’s Dedan Thomas Jr., who led the Runnin’ Rebels with 16 points, dribbled the length of the court to the baseline. He faked a shot to put Dayton forward Zed Key in the air. Key recovered in time and put a hand in Thomas’s face, whose shot hit the front of the wreath as time expired.

No. 22 Dayton escaped with a 66-65 win.

“It ended up being a contested shot,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “We’re thankful it didn’t come in because they did some controversial ones today.”

Dayton (10-2) won its 25th straight home game to move within five wins of the school record. It set its third consecutive perfect record in non-conference home games. It has won 26 straight games in this category since losing three straight games to UMass Lowell, Lipscomb and Austin Peay to start the 2021-22 season.

UNLV (5-5) fell to 0-5 against teams ranked in the top 70 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool. With just over three minutes to play on Nov. 9, Memphis had the lead but lost 80-74. It played close against Northwestern, but lost 66-61 on November 29th. It didn’t play well against either Creighton or Mississippi State, losing both games by double digits.

Dayton knew UNLV would be a dangerous opponent despite its record, especially since the game came three days after an intense 71-63 win over No. 6 Marquette.

“Nothing about the game was easy,” Grant said, “but I think the mark of a good team – and these guys have shown that all year – is a certain level of resilience and a certain level of toughness. “They stay continue to fight if they are hit. It may burn for a minute, but they’ll get right back up and start fighting right back. They did that the whole game today.”

This marked the first time since Josh Cunningham’s final basket against Ball State in Grant’s first game as coach in 2017 that Dayton won a home game with a go-ahead shot in the final 10 seconds. This time Smith drove to the basket and made a one-handed floater that tied the game while drawing a foul. He made the free throw after missing two shots earlier in the half.

Smith’s brother, Scoochie Smith, who was inducted into the UD Hall of Fame earlier this month, never made such a late go-ahead shot in the final seconds of a game, but had a number of clutch shots. In that game against VCU in 2016, Scoochie scored a game-winning layup with 11 seconds left in the game. In a game against Davidson in 2017, Scoochie hit three 3-pointers in overtime in an 89-82 win.

Malachi had 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting and five assists in that game. He scored Dayton’s final five points. His fast-break layup with 37 seconds to play gave Dayton a 63-62 lead. The advantage didn’t last long. Julian Rishwain, who missed his first three 3-pointers but made 4 of 4 in the final eight minutes, sank a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to set up Smith’s 3-point play.

“I’m just glad we got the W,” Smith said. “UNLV is a good team. They don’t have a great record, but they’re a good team.”

Dayton surpassed its third-worst 3-point shooting performance of the season (5 of 21, 23.8%). UNLV shot 8 of 19 (42.1%), thanks largely to Rishwain.

Nate Santos was one of four Flyers in double figures with 14 points, but the team’s leading scorer this season, Enoch Cheeks (14.7 points per game), scored a season-low four points. He contributed in other ways as well, leading the team with 10 rebounds and six assists.

Dayton held an eight-point lead in the first half and again in the second half. It had a seven-point lead with eight minutes to play and a one-point lead with three minutes and 24 seconds left after a 3-point play by Zed Key.

Four straight free throws from Thomas gave UNLV a 59-56 lead. Key responded with two free throws. Then Jaden Henley’s 3-point play at the 1:25 mark gave UNLV a 62-58 lead.

A 3-pointer from Santos with 75 seconds left started Dayton’s comeback. The Flyers had missed their four previous 3s. Santos said it’s difficult to find ways to win when the 3-point shots aren’t falling.

“I think we can win in different ways in a number of games that we’ve seen,” Santos said. “We’re really good at adapting and finding a way to win.”

The narrow margin of victory dropped Dayton from 23rd to 35th in the NET. There is no need to wait long for another resume building opportunity. It plays Cincinnati (8-1), ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 29 in the NET, at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

“Our guys stayed the course,” Grant said, “and believed in each other and believed in what we did and found a way to get the win. “If you want to have a season like we’re capable of , you have to win such games. I’ve been here for a long time. They consider these types of victories to be some of the braver victories. Everyone wants to talk about it when you play against the ranked teams, but these are the ones that make you who you are and who you have the chance to become.”

FRIDAY GAME

Dayton vs. Cincinnati, 8:30 p.m., ESPNU, 1290, 95.7