Jalen Crutcher: ‘Dream come true’ playing in Maui Invitational

» PHOTOS: Flyers vs. Bulldogs | UD fans in Maui | Lahaina Civic Center

Dayton returned to the locker room and then came back out. Only at that point did the players see how many people had traveled 4,000-plus miles to watch them play.

“This is incredible,” said center Jordy Tshimanga, who made his Dayton debut in the 80-61 victory against Georgia. “It was so crazy to me. We came out of the tunnel, and they were all there. Is that all for us?”

The announced attendance for the first game was 2,400, and most of the fans were there for the Flyers, who improved to 10-2 in the tournament.

“It's a great gym to play in,” said Dayton forward Obi Toppin, who scored 25 points. “A lot of our fans came out and supported us, filled the whole gym up. I'm sure you all heard them throughout the whole game. It wasn't a big gym like what we're used to playing in every single day, but it's a great gym and we just did what we had to do today.”

» UD STORIES: Tshimanga debuts | Toppin stars

Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher, who scored 20 points, said playing in the tournament was “a dream come true. It's a blessing for me because I've been growing up watching this tournament.”

MORE ON FLYERS

» LOOKIN BACK: Last Dayton vs. Georgia game was in 1973

» UD PHOTOS: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

» ARCHDEACON FEATURES: Mikesell | Chatman | Toppin | Watson

» BIG JOB: Planning Maui trip takes months of work

» NOVEMBER TOURNAMENTS: Photos from last five years

» NCAA VIBE: Maui a unique tournament