• A season ago, Virginia Commonwealth’s Zeb Jackson missed a 3-pointer from the corner at the second-half buzzer. The Dayton Flyers won 91-86 in overtime.
• In 2023, Philip Alston, of Loyola Chicago, sent a game to overtime with a 3-pointer from the same spot, though Dayton won 85-81.
• In 2016, with Dayton center Steve McElvene running at him, Virginia Commonwealth’s Melvin Johnson missed what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer from that corner in the final regular-season game of the 2016 season. The Flyers won 68-67, clinching a share of the Atlantic 10 Conference championship.
Dayton found itself in a similar situation Tuesday. After Malachi Smith’s 3-point play gave the Flyers a one-point lead with eight seconds remaining, UNLV’s Dedan Thomas Jr., who led the Runnin’ Rebels with 16 points, dribbled the length of the court to the baseline. He faked a shot to get Dayton forward Zed Key in the air. Key recovered in time to put a hand in the face of Thomas, whose shot hit the front of the rim as time expired.
No. 22 Dayton escaped with a 66-65 victory.
“It was a contested shot at the end,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “We’re grateful it didn’t go in because they made some contested ones today.”
Dayton (10-2) won its 25th straight home game, moving within five victories of tying the school record. It completed its third straight perfect record in non-conference home games. It has won 26 games in a row in that category since losing three in a row to UMass Lowell, Lipscomb and Austin Peay early in the 2021-22 season.
UNLV (5-5) fell to 0-5 against teams ranked in the top 70 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool. It led Memphis with just over three minutes to play on Nov. 9 but lost 80-74. It played Northwestern close but lost 66-61 on Nov. 29. It did not play well against either Creighton or Mississippi State and lost both those games by double digits.
Dayton knew UNLV would be a dangerous opponent despite its record, especially with the game coming three days after an intense 71-63 victory against No. 6 Marquette.
“Nothing about the game was easy,” Grant said, “but I think the mark of a good team — and these guys have shown this all year — is a level of resiliency and a level of toughness. They continue to keep themselves in the fight when they get hit. It may sting for a minute, but they get right back up and get right back in the fight. They did that throughout the game today.”
Credit: David Jablonski
This was the first time Dayton won a home game on a go-ahead shot in the final 10 seconds since Josh Cunningham’s last-second basket against Ball State in Grant’s first game as coach in 2017. This time, Smith drove to the basket and made a one-handed floater, tying the game while drawing a foul. He made the free throw after missing two earlier in the half.
Smith’s brother Scoochie Smith, who entered the UD Hall of Fame earlier this month, never made a late go-ahead shot like this in the final seconds of a game but had a collection of clutch shots. In that 2016 game against VCU, Scoochie made a game-tying layup with 11 seconds to play. In a 2017 game against Davidson, Scoochie made three 3-pointers in overtime in an 89-82 victory.
Malachi had 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting in this game to go with five assists. He scored Dayton’s last five points. His fast-break layup with 37 seconds to play gave Dayton a 63-62 lead. The advantage didn’t last long. Julian Rishwain, who missed his first three 3-pointers but made 4 of 4 in the final eight minutes, sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining, setting the stage of Smith’s 3-point play.
“I’m just glad we got the W,” Smith said. “UNLV is a good team. They have not so good of a record, but they’re a good team.”
Dayton overcame its third-worst 3-point shooting performance of the season (5 of 21, 23.8%). UNLV, thanks mostly to Rishwain, made 8 of 19 (42.1%).
Nate Santos, with 14 points was one of four Flyers in double figures, but the team’s leading scorer on the season, Enoch Cheeks (14.7 points per game) scored a season-low four points. He contributed in other ways, leading the team with 10 rebounds and six assists.
Dayton had an eight-point lead in the first half and again in the second half. It had a seven-point lead with eight minutes to play and a one-point lead with 3 minutes, 24 seconds remaining after a 3-point play by Zed Key.
Four straight free throws by Thomas gave UNLV a 59-56 lead. Key answered with two free throws. Then Jaden Henley’s 3-point play at the 1:25 mark gave UNLV a 62-58 lead.
A 3-pointer by Santos with 75 seconds remaining started Dayton’s comeback. The Flyers had missed their four previous 3s. Santos said it’s tough finding ways to win when the 3-pointers aren’t falling.
“I think through a series of games we’ve seen that we can win in a variety of ways,” Santos said. “We’re really good at adjusting and finding a way to win.”
The narrow margin of victory dropped Dayton from No. 23 to No. 35 in the NET. It doesn’t have to wait long for another resume-building opportunity. At 8:30 p.m. Friday, it plays Cincinnati (8-1), which is No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 29 in the NET, at the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati.
“Our guys stayed the course,” Grant said, “and believed in each other and believed in what we were doing and found a way to get the win. If you’re going to have a season like we think we’re capable of having, you’re going to have to win games like that. I’ve been around for a long time. You look at these type of wins as some of the guttier wins. Everybody wants to talk about when you play the ranked teams, but these are the ones that kind of make you who you are and who you get a chance to become.”
FRIDAY’S GAME
Dayton vs. Cincinnati, 8:30 p.m., ESPNU, 1290, 95.7
Credit: David Jablonski
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