Dayton Flyers rout Virginia Tech to reach Maui Invitational championship

One day after beating Georgia 80-61, Dayton routed Virginia Tech with an even stronger performance, winning 89-62 in the semifinals at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Dayton (5-0) will play in the Maui Invitational championship for the second time. It will face No. 4 Kansas at 5 p.m. on Wednesday (noon in Maui). Kansas beat BYU 71-56 in the second semifinal Tuesday.

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Toppin scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Trey Landers and Rodney Chatman each scored 13. Ryan Mikesell had 10 points. Jalen Crutcher had six points and nine assists.

Walk-ons Christian Wilson and Camron Greer got on the board in the final possessions. Eleven players scored for the Flyers.

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Virginia Tech was down double-digits throughout the second half and got as close as 14 points, at which point Dayton put the game away with a quick 7-0 run starting at the 6:45 mark.

The Flyers shot 63.6 percent from the field and 45.8 percent (11 of 24) from 3-point range. They had a 38-21 rebounding advantage.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Ibi Watson grabbed a missed 3-pointer out of the air and dunked it with one hand to end the first half, putting an exclamation point on a dominant performance. Dayton built a 49-31 halftime lead against Virginia Tech.

Toppin put on a first-half show for the second straight day. He scored 14 points and made 3 of 5 3-pointers.

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All nine Flyers who saw action in the half scored at least two points. Rodney Chatman and Trey Landers each had eight. Jalen Crutcher scored six.

Dayton shot 65.5 percent from the field (19 of 29) and 57.1 percent from 3-point range (8 of 14). Dayton outscored Virginia Tech 20-5 in the last 7:08.