Dayton’s season ends with overtime loss to Vanderbilt in NIT

Dayton had a chance to tie the game or win the game on the final possession after former Dayton guard Rodney Chatman missed two free throws for Vanderbilt with 12 seconds to play. Dayton coach Anthony Grant called timeout with 7.8 seconds left after the Flyers advanced the ball past half court.

Kobe Elvis drove to the rim but had his shot blocked by Liam Robbins in the final seconds.

Dayton (24-11) also had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of regulation. A turnover by Elvis led to a fast break for Vanderbilt. DaRon Holmes II blocked a shot in the final seconds to keep the game tied at 63-63.

Dayton, the No. 1 overall seed in the NIT, had to play on the road in the first two rounds because of the First Four and boys basketball state championship games being held at UD Arena. Xavier, the No. 2 seed, will now host No. 4 seed Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals after beating No. 3 seed Florida 72-56 on Sunday.

Elvis, starting at point guard in the second straight game with Malachi Smith sidelined by an ankle injury, led Dayton with 21 points on 7-of-21 shooting. Holmes scored 17. Toumani Camara had 11.

Dayton shot 25 percent (4 of 16) from 3-point range and struggled at the free-throw line until R.J. Blakney and Camara tied the game with four straight late free throws in overtime.

Vanderbilt took the lead on a basket by Robbins with 33 seconds to play. It grabbed two offensive rebounds on the play.

Vanderbilt also made the most of an offensive rebound to tie the game with 23 seconds left in the second half on a score by Quentin Millora-Brown.

Scotty Pippen Jr. led Vanderbilt with 32 points on 9-of-24 shooting.

FIRST HALF RECAP

The Flyers rallied from a 10-point deficit with a 12-0 run and took a 26-25 halftime lead.

Moulaye Sissoko scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting for Dayton, and Holmes, playing in the city where he lived as a kid, also had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Dayton led 6-4 in the opening minutes but then scored two points in the next seven minutes, falling behind 18-8 at the 11:01 mark.

Chatman made two 3-pointers in the first five minutes for Vanderbilt and scored six points in the half.

Scotty Pippen Jr. led the Commodores with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting. His dad, NBA great Scottie Pippen, watched the game from the front row behind the basket near the Vanderbilt bench.

After falling behind by 10, Dayton outscored Vanderbilt 12-0 in the next five minutes and scored four more points to make it a 16-2 run.