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The Flyers lose a 21-point lead and fall short in a thriller against North Carolina at the Maui Invitational


The Flyers lose a 21-point lead and fall short in a thriller against North Carolina at the Maui Invitational

Here is a quick summary of the game:

What it means: Dayton (5-1) lost a first-round game on Maui for the first time, going 9-4 in five appearances.

North Carolina (4-1) evened the series between the schools at 2-2. This was the first meeting since the NIT championship game in 2010.

North Carolina’s 21-point comeback was the largest second-half comeback in school history.

Stars of the game: North Carolina All-American guard RJ Davis scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half. He made 8 of 19 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.

Nate Santos led Dayton with 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He was one of five Flyers to score in double figures.

Statistics of the game: North Carolina made 27 of 34 free throws (79.4%). Dayton made 12 of 15 (80%).

Big shots: Drake Powell gave North Carolina an 88-87 lead with a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 13 seconds left. Dayton appeared to tie the game on a three-pointer from Santos with six seconds left, but review showed it was a two-pointer.

Davis made two free throws with four seconds left in the game, extending North Carolina’s lead back to three points. North Carolina didn’t allow Dayton to tie the game in the final seconds and fouled Malachi Smith, who made his first free throw and intentionally missed the first. North Carolina grabbed the rebound and secured the win.

Hot shooters: Dayton shot a season-high 43.8% (14 of 32) from 3-point range. Javon Bennett, Enoch Cheeks and Amaël L’Etang all scored three 3s.

Looking ahead: Dayton plays Iowa State in the consolation bracket on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. The game begins at 3:30 p.m. in Maui. It airs on ESPNU.

Iowa State (3-1) blew an 18-point lead in an 83-81 loss to Auburn (5-0), which won the game on a tip-in by All-American forward Johni Broome with one second left in the game .

North Carolina plays Auburn on Tuesday at 11 p.m. or 6 p.m. on Maui.

Halftime review

Dayton made 7 of 18 3-point shots and built a 51-33 halftime lead against North Carolina. It was the Flyers’ largest halftime lead of the season.

Here’s a quick recap of the halftime:

Key players: Posh Alexander made 4 of 7 shots and led Dayton with 11 points. Ten players saw action in the first half for Dayton. All 10 scored at least two points.

Key Stats: While Dayton shot 38.9% from 3-point range, North Carolina shot 18.2% (2 of 11).

Sales difference: Dayton only committed four turnovers. North Carolina had 12. Dayton scored 19 points off turnovers.

Big Run: Dayton led 23-22 with 8:05 to play and then scored the next 11 points to take a 34-22 lead with 6:30 to play.

Career first: Dayton freshman Hamad Mousa missed all six of his 3-point attempts in the first five games, but made his only attempt in the first half against the Tar Heels.

Foul problems: There were 24 fouls in the first half: 14 to Dayton; and 10 on North Carolina. Four Flyers had two fouls in the first half. Only Enoch Cheeks had three. North Carolina had four players with two fouls.

Rotation News: For the second straight game, Jaiun Simon saw minutes early in the first half. He saw limited playing time in the first four games. He made his only field goal attempt in the first half

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