Nebraska regained the lead on two free throws by Glynn Watson Jr. with nine seconds left, and those turned out to be the winning points in an 80-78 victory by the Cornhuskers in the first round of the Wooden Legacy at Titan Gymnasium.
Dayton had more rebounds (37-33), more assists (12-11), four fewer turnovers (15-11), made four more free throws and four more 3-pointers. It lost the game because Nebraska shot 56.9 percent from the field. Dayton shot 38.1.
“It was a hard-fought game there at the very end,” Dayton coach Archie Miller said. “Give Nebraska credit on a good win. We’re not playing anywhere near hard enough or disciplined enough on defense, in particular right now, to be successful against good teams. We do have a tough-mindedness about ourselves, and toward the ends you could see it. To have a one-point lead with what we went up against, I don’t think we’re afraid to keep competing or playing, but we’re just not playing well enough right now on the defensive side of the ball. There’s just too many breakdowns.”
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The Flyers fell to 2-2 with their second loss since they lost forward Josh Cunningham for at least three months with a torn ligament in his ankle. This qualifies as the worst start, through four games, of the Miller era. They were 3-1 in 2011, 2012 and 2014 and 4-0 in 2013 and 2015.
Dayton will play Portland, which lost 99-77 to UCLA, in the consolation bracket at 9:30 p.m. Friday. Its possible opponents on Sunday are New Mexico or Cal State Northridge, who lost their first two games Thursday. Dayton has not lost two games in a holiday tournament in Miller’s first five seasons.
This team will have to bounce back from a heartbreaking ending. After Watson’s free throws, Smith missed a layup with 2 seconds to go. It was very similar to his drive on the go-ahead basket seconds earlier.
Ed Morrow Jr. hit 1 of 2 free throws at the other end. Dayton threw a length-of-the-court pass but couldn’t get a shot off at the buzzer.
“We’ve been in a lot of situations, a lot of big games,” Miller said. “They know how to finish, how to keep competing. Being down, staying with it, we had a couple plays go good for us. We finally got a couple of shots to go in. We’re just not rock solid enough in any area to hang our hat on it and say this is how we win. We’ve had some great comebacks in the last two games, but in our last three games in general, it’s been hard for us. Our inside guys getting all the minutes, they’re basically playing those kind of minutes for the first time.”
Xeyrius Williams scored a career-high 15 points. He hit 3 of 5 3-pointers. Charles Cooke led the Flyers with 17 points. Smith scored 13. Sam Miller had 11.
Nebraska seized control of the game in the opening minutes by hitting their first seven shots from the field.
Michael Jacobson, Tai Webster, Glynn Watson Jr., and Morrow Jr. all scored in the first four minutes. Nebraska didn’t miss a shot until the 15:25 mark. By that point, the Flyers trailed 14-5.
Sam Miller and Kyle Davis got the Flyers on the board, but the situation got worse before it got better. Nebraska pushed its lead to 21-7 on a dunk by Isaiah Roby at the 11:07 mark.
Dayton’s comeback started on the next possession. Sam Miller hit a 3-pointer. Then Williams hit a 3. Charles Cooke followed with his first basket.
Dayton’s rally continued, and it tied the game at 26-26 on a pair of free throws by Cooke at the 5:13 mark. Free throws kept Dayton in the game. It made 11 of 13 in the first half (84.6 percent).
Nebraska countered Dayton’s run, however, with a spurt at the end of the first half. The Flyers found themselves down at halftime for the third straight game, 40-31.
Nebraska shot 60.7 percent from the field at halftime compared to 24.2 percent for Dayton.
“I’m glad we play tomorrow,” Miller said. ” The best feeling is we have a game tomorrow. We have to be ready to go. We have to get off our feet here and keep getting better. We’re a team right now trying to find our identity. We came into the season with a lot of expectations and confidence. Right now there are certain things out there that just don’t look right to me, and it’s not one guy. It’s every guy.”
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