Dayton loses another heartbreaker in Maui Invitational

No. 5 Iowa State used a four-point possession in the final minute to break a tie and beat Dayton 89-84 in the consolation round at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The loss means Dayton (5-2) will play another ranked team, No. 2 Connecticut (4-2), in the seventh-place game on Wednesday. The game will start at midnight in Ohio and 7 a.m. in Maui. It will air on ESPN2.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton will fail to win two games in the Maui Invitational for the first time in five appearances. It won at least two games in each of its first four appearances. The Flyers lost 92-90 to No. 12 North Carolina in the first round Monday.

Key players: Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert scored 24 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He made 12 of 14 free throws.

Malachi Smith led Dayton with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He made 6 of 9 free throws.

Turning point: After Dayton tied the game on a fast-break dunk by Zed Key with 1:20 to play, Iowa State scored four points on its next possession. First, Key was called for a flagrant foul on Gilbert, who made two free throws. Iowa State got the ball back, and Gilbert scored on a layup to give Iowa State an 85-81 lead with 26 seconds to play.

Missed opportunities: In the last four minutes, Dayton made 2 of 5 free throws, and Smith missed the front end of a 1 and 1. Iowa State made 10 of 10 free throws in the same stretch.

Dominant run: At one point in the second half, Iowa State scored on 11 straight possessions. It built a nine-point lead, but Dayton rallied to take the lead for the final time with 5:12 to play on a 3-pointer by Enoch Cheeks.

Looking ahead: Either Dayton or UConn will leave Maui without a victory. The Huskies lost 99-97 in overtime to Memphis on Monday and lost 73-72 to Colorado on Tuesday.

FIRST-HALF RECAP

Dayton twice built nine-point leads in the first half against Iowa State and took a 41-37 lead into halftime.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Nate Santos and Smith each scored 10 points for Dayton. Santos made 4 of 9 field goals, including 2 of 4 3-pointers. Smith made 3 of 3 shots, including 1 of 1 3-pointers, plus 3 of 4 free throws.

Gilbert and Milan Momcilovic each had 10 points for Iowa State.

Key stat: Dayton made 4 of 8 3-pointers. Iowa State made 2 of 9.

Big runs: Dayton had a 10-0 run to turn a 6-5 deficit into a 15-6 lead at the 15:41 mark. Iowa State answered with an 8-0 run.

Dayton later had an 8-0 run to push the lead back to nine points, 36-27 with 2:38 to play.

Turnover numbers: Dayton had seven turnovers to Iowa State’s three in the half.

Free-throw success: Dayton made 9 of 11 free throws in the half. Iowa State made 5 of 7.