Dayton Flyers fall in overtime to Rhode Island

Trey Landers almost won the game for the Dayton Flyers with a tip-in at the buzzer in the second half and then missed what would have been a game-tying shot at the buzzer in overtime as Rhode Island won 72-70 on Friday at UD Arena.

The ninth-place Rams turned the tables on the second-place Flyers after losing 77-48 at home to the Flyers on Feb. 9.

» TWENTY PHOTOS: Dayton vs. Rhode Island

Jalen Crutcher missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the second half. Landers got a hand on the rebound, and the ball rolled off the rim, sending the game to overtime tied at 63.

Dayton led 72-70 after a 3-point play by Obi Toppin with 2:50 left in overtime and didn’t score again. Fatts Russell tied the game with 2:10 to play. Dana Tate grabbed an offensive rebound and scored what turned out to be the game-winning basket with 1:10 to play. Neither team scored in the final minute.

Tyrese Martin missed a free throw with five seconds left. Dayton took the ball the other way, and Landers missed a jump shot at the end.

Dayton (19-10, 11-5) saw its three-game winning streak end. It drops out of a tie for second with Davidson (20-8, 11-4), which plays Fordham on Saturday.

Toppin led Dayton with 26 points. Ryan Mikesell scored 23. Cyril Langevine scored 26 for the Rams. Russell had 23.

Dayton loses 72-70. pic.twitter.com/s9fzFiK08J
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) March 2, 2019

Trey Landers almost the hero. Dayton, Rhode Island going to overtime. I don’t know how that didn’t fall. pic.twitter.com/sMNCN4pU9A
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) March 2, 2019

HALFTIME RECAP

Rhode Island, the worst 3-point shooting team in the country, made 5 of 12 3-pointers in the first half to build a 38-31 halftime lead.

The Rams were shooting 26.6 percent from long range entering this game but made 10 of 21 in their last game, an 80-53 victory against George Washington.

Fatts Russell made 3 of 5 3-pointers, leading the Rams with 14 points in the half. He was shooting 19.1 percent from behind the arc entering the game.

Dayton trailed 21-15 but took a 22-21 lead by outscoring the Rams 7-0 in a four-minute stretch. Rhode Island answered with a 7-0 run in less than a minute and extended its lead to as many as nine points with 2:01 left.

» MARCH FORECAST: Lunardi bumps up Dayton in latest prediction

Ryan Mikesell, who led the Flyers with 11 points, hit two free throws in the final seconds to cut the deficit to seven. Obi Toppin added seven points for Dayton.

Cyril Langevine scored 12 for Rhode Island.

The Rams shot 57.1 percent. Dayton shot 57.9 percent. Dayton outscored Rhode Island 8-1 at the free-throw line.

In Other News

Social media reacts to Bengals’ win over Titans

Joe Burrow sets franchise record with 3 more TD passes as Bengals beat...

‘Man, this was big time’ — Dayton rides UD Arena atmosphere to biggest...

35 years later: Celebrating the 1990 Dayton Flyers

Social media reacts to Dayton’s upset of Marquette

About the Author