Malachi Smith’s three-point play helps No. 22 Dayton survive upset – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio

DAYTON – The No. 22 University of Dayton men’s basketball team defeated UNLV in dramatic fashion, 66-65, on Tuesday night at UD Arena.

(DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO TV News app for breaking news alerts)

Malachi Smith’s three-point play with eight seconds left contributed to the win.

Julian Rishwain hit a three-pointer to give the Rebels a 65-63 lead with 23 seconds left.

Smith made a layup and drew a foul to tie the game at 65-65. His free throw put UD on top. UNLV’s Dedan Thomas Jr. missed a jumper at the buzzer.

The Flyers improved to 10-2 on the season.

TRENDING STORIES:

Dayton jumped out to a 9-2 lead early in the game, but UNLV responded to the tie by going 11-11.

Amael L’Etang drained a three-pointer and regained the lead 14-11. Nate Santos’ dunk gave UD a 22-14 lead with 8:04 left until halftime.

The Rebels finished the first half outscoring the Flyers 14-5 and took a 28-27 halftime lead.

Dayton scored nine straight points early in the second half to take a 36-28 lead. UNLV would not outscore UD 12-4 and tie the game 40-40.

The Flyers led 51-44 with 8:15 left, but Rishwain made three treys as UNLV regained the lead at 55-53 with 3:34 left.

Jaden Henley’s three-point play extended the Rebels’ lead to 62-58 with 1:25 to play. Santos sank a three-pointer and Smith’s layup put the Flyers back on top, 63-62, with 37 seconds left.

Rishwain buried his fourth three-pointer of the game to give UNLV a 65-63 lead. Smith scored and was fouled with eight seconds left. He made the free throw and the Flyers led 66-65.

Thomas’ shot attempt failed at the buzzer and Dayton won its 25th straight home game.

Santos led UD with 14 points while Zed Key added 13. Smith scored 11 points, including the Flyers’ last five points. LE’Tang had 10.

Dayton’s next game is Friday when they play No. 19 Cincinnati in the Hoops Classic at Heritage Bank Arena. Meeting point is at 8:30 p.m

The game will be broadcast on WHIO Radio. It is also published here on WHIO.com.

(SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter)