Malachi Smith’s 3-point play helps Dayton escape upset against UNLV

Here is a quick summary of the game:

What it means: Dayton (10-2) avenged a 60-52 loss at UNLV two years ago. This was the schools’ second meeting and UD’s first win in the series.

• Dayton extended its home winning streak to 25 games. It is the third longest in school history.

• Dayton has a 10-2 record for the second straight season and the third time in coach Anthony Grant’s eight seasons.

Star of the game: Nate Santos scored 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting for Dayton.

Santos made a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 15 seconds left in the game, cutting UNLV’s lead to one point. Smith then scored on a layup to give Dayton the lead, but it was short-lived as Rishwain made his fourth 3-pointer in the final eight minutes.

Statistics of the game: Dayton won despite making 5 of 23 3-pointers (23.8%). It is the fourth time this season that the rate has been below 30%.

Late comeback: Dayton led by as many as eight points in the second half, but UNLV pulled ahead in the final four minutes. It had a 59-56 lead with 2:16 left and a 62-58 lead with 1:25 left.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Cincinnati (8-1) at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati on Friday at 8:30 p.m. This is the sixth game between the two teams with both ranked.

Dayton defeated Cincinnati 82-68 last season in the first game between the programs since the 2010-11 season.

Cincinnati defeated Xavier 68-65 in its last game on Saturday, securing its first win in the Crosstown Shootout since 2018. The Bearcats don’t play again until Friday.

Halftime review

Dayton led by as many as eight points in the first half but faced a 28-27 halftime deficit. This was the third time in the last four home games that UD trailed at halftime.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Main actors: Jaden Henley led UNLV with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting.

Nate Santos, Javon Bennett and Amaël L’Etang all scored five points for Dayton.

Key Stats: Dayton made 2 of 9 3-point shots. UNLV made 2 of 7.

Big runs: Dayton took its largest lead with a 6-0 run, 22-14, with 8 minutes and 4 seconds left in the half. UNLV answered that run with an 8-0 run, tying the game at 22-22 with 4:05 to play.

Big shot: UNLV led 28-25 in the final seconds. Dayton guard Posh Alexander made a layup at the buzzer to cut the deficit to one point.

Squad news: Dayton forward Jacob Conner returned to action after missing six games with an ankle injury. He played 2 minutes and 29 seconds in the half.