Dayton (2-1) trailed by as many as 15 points, 60-45 with 9:07 left, but then began a 19-2 run to take a 64-62 lead with 3:42 to play. LSU (1-2) answered with five straight points.
With 47 seconds left, Dayton’s Koby Brea made a game-tying 3-pointer. LSU turned the ball over with 22 seconds left, allowing Dayton to play for the final shot.
Santos scored 19 points, and Javon Bennett added 16 for the Flyers. Brea added 13 points.
Dayton will face St. John’s (2-1) in the semifinals of the eight-team event at 2 p.m. Friday (ESPN2). St. John’s beat North Texas 53-52 in the first game of the day Thursday.
HALFTIME RECAP
LSU led 32-30 at halftime. Here’s a quick recap:
Key player: LSU forward Jalen Reed led all scorers with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Key stat: LSU shot 57.1% (12 of 21) from the field, while Dayton shot 36.7% (11 of 30). The Flyers took nine more shots because they had seven offensive rebounds.
Surprising stat: Dayton star DaRon Holmes scored only two points in the half on 1-of-5 shooting.
Outside shooting numbers: Dayton made 7 of 22 3-pointers (31.8%).
Close game: Dayton led by no more than four points and trailed by no more than two. There were 11 lead changes and five ties. Neither team had a scoring run of more than five points.
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