Men’s basketball defeats UNLV in final seconds

DAYTON— The 22nd-ranked University of Dayton men’s basketball team came from behind in the final seconds to rally to a 66-65 victory against UNLV on Tuesday night at UD Arena. The win was the team’s 25th consecutive home win. Malachi Smith With eight seconds left, he scored the winning goal and secured the Flyers victory. Four players scored in double figures for UD, led by Nate Santos at 14. Enoch cheeks led the team in rebounds and assists with six and five, respectively.
Dayton improves to 10-2 on the season while UNLV falls to 5-5.



First Half – Dayton 27, UNLV 28

• PhD student Zed key got the game going for the Flyers by hitting a contested mid-range shot that opened the scoring.

• senior Enoch cheeks He then grabbed his own miss and fouled it to go to the line, where he converted both free throws.
• Key then found a cut Nate Santos who completed a layup three minutes into the contest to increase the score to 6-2.
• Right on the next possession, junior Javon Bennett hit a three-pointer to give UD a seven-point lead.
• After a UNLV bucket on the other end, Junior Malachi Smith finished a hard shot through contact and extended the lead back to seven at 11-4.
• After 14 minutes, Dayton had a two-point lead, 11-9. Each of the Flyers’ first five baskets were scored by a different starter.
• The Runnin’ Rebels went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 11, but freshman Amaël L’Etang hit a three-pointer to give UD the lead back with 13 minutes left.
• After a brief scoring drought by both teams, Smith drove to the basket to throw it in, extending the lead to 16-11 at 10:30.
• senior Noble Alexander caught a steal after a UNLV three cut into the Flyers lead and converted a layup on the fast break.
• On the next possession, Alexander L’Etang hit the basket with all his might, and the Frenchman managed to finish through contact and extend the lead to 20-14 at 8:36 minutes.
• Santos then threw down a dunk to push the Dayton run to 6-0, forcing UNLV to call a timeout.
• UNLV responded with a run of its own, scoring eight unanswered points to tie the game after the under-4s timeout.
• Coming out of the timeout, Bennett hit a diving floater to regain the Flyers’ lead and stop the UNLV run.
• After a few free throws, the Runnin’ Rebels made a put-back layup with just over a minute left in the half to take the lead for the first time all night
• Alexander finished a drive to the basket with contact to cut the deficit to one point before halftime.

Second half – Dayton 66, UNLV 65

• Key gave the Flyers the lead back and started the second half with a wild alley-oop dunk from one Malachi Smith help.
• On the next possession, Key got to the line where he converted both free throws and increased the lead to three. Bennett then sparked a 7-0 Flyer run by knocking down a transition three and forcing UNLV into a timeout just 90 seconds into the half.
• Cheeks grabbed a steal from the Runnin’ Rebels and went coast-to-coast, successfully making contact and securing two foul shots.
• On the next drive down the court, Smith found Key again at the post and delivered an emphatic slam.
• Dayton endured a 2:35 losing streak that resulted in them missing four straight field goals at the U16 timeout, but still maintained a 38-35 lead.
• Alexander finally broke the drought for the Flyers by hitting a contested mid-range shot to give the Flyers a 40-37 lead with 13:49 to play.
• After a UNLV three-pointer tied the game, L’Etang responded with a shot from behind the arc to retake the lead with 11:30 left.
• Santos then completed a drive on the next possession, giving the Flyers a 45-40 lead.
• After a UNLV three-pointer, Santos completed another Smith assist on the next drive down the court, giving UD another two-possession advantage midway through the second half.
• While in the air, Cheeks found L’Etang open in the post and handed it to him for an easy layup.
• UNLV brought the game back to within two points at 51-49, but Smith hit a fadeaway jumper to give the Flyers a four-point lead with six minutes to play.
• After a UNLV three-pointer cut the lead to one, both teams struggled to hit their shots and both had a scoring drought that lasted over two minutes, leaving the score at 53-52 until the U4 timeout.
• After the timeout, UNLV hit a three-pointer to take a two-point lead before Key fouled out and converted the and-one chance to give the Flyers a 56-55 lead with just over three minutes left .
• The Runnin’ Rebels won back-to-back charity appearances to take a 56-59 lead.
• On offense, Key managed to bring the game back to one point with two free throws.
• The fouls continued on the Flyers’ defense as UNLV took a lead with 1:25 left and capitalized on a chance.
• After another assist from Smith, Santos hit a huge three-pointer in the corner to increase the lead to 61-62 with a minute to play.
• Smith made a quick attack on the next possession, giving the Flyers a 63-62 lead with 37 seconds left.
• UNLV responded with a three-pointer to retake the lead at 63-65 with 23 seconds left in the game.
• Smith drove to the basket and finished with a foul to tie the score at 65 with eight seconds left. He would convert the free throw to give the Flyers the lead.
• UNLV’s game-winning shot attempt would fail as the Flyers defended their 25th straight home win.

WITHIN THE NUMBERS


4- Dayton scored on each of its last four possessions to secure the victory.
4- Four Flyers scored in double figures (Santos-14, Key-13, Smith-11, L’Etang-10).
7- UD had seven fewer turnovers in the second half than in the first (eight in the first half, one in the second).
8- The lead changed hands eight times throughout the game.
10- Nate Santos led the team with +/- 10.
15- Dayton recorded 15 assists on 24 field goals made.
10- Enoch cheeks led the team with 10 rebounds.







NEXT
• The Flyers face #19 Cincinnati on Friday night in the Hoops Classic at Heritage Bank Arena.
• The meeting point is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET