Flyers Season Ends in NIT Quarterfinals
Photo via @daytonmbb Instagram
Gabriel Ward | Sports Editor
DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton men’s basketball team (25-12) fell to the Illinois State Redbirds (23-12) Wednesday evening in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament in front of 10,444 fans at UD Arena. It was the first time that UD Arena hosted an NIT game since 2010, when the Flyers faced the same Redbirds program in the opening round. That year, the Flyers went on to win the tournament.
Illinois State came out red-hot; the Redbirds jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead in just over four minutes. During that offensive outburst, Illinois State knocked down three 3-pointers, whereas Dayton started 0-for-7 from the field.
The Flyers finally found themselves on the board when De’Shayne Montgomery made a layup to break the cold streak. Immediately after, Keonte Jones stole the ball and found Jordan Derkack for a layup, cutting the Redbirds’ lead to nine.
The story of the game came with 11:29 left in the half when Javon Bennett subbed out. Bennett headed down the tunnel with an apparent injury and, despite returning to the UD bench, never checked back into the game.
The Illinois State lead stayed between five and nine points for the next six minutes until a Chase Walker three-point play began a Redbirds run. From 9:18 until 5:54 left in the half, ISU went on a 12-0 run, extending their lead to 31-14.
Dayton responded to end the half, starting a 7-0 run with 4:21 remaining in the half, all the way until halftime. The teams entered the locker room with ISU ahead, 33-23.
Illinois State quickly grew its lead in the second half, and with 12:30 remaining, a Ty Pence jumper would extend the Redbirds’ lead to 49-30. Pence finished with 12 points and was one of three Illinois State players to score in double digits. Walker scored 13 points, and Johnny Kinziger was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points.
Despite fans starting to leave the game and Pence’s jumper giving the Redbirds their largest lead of the night, Dayton began to rally. From 8:41 until 2:26 remaining, UD would go on a 14-0 run, and during that stretch, six different Flyers would score. That run trimmed the ISU lead all the way down to five. But despite having multiple opportunities to bring the game within one score, the Flyers failed to do so.
The Redbirds’ defensive stands allowed them to successfully close the game out and hold on for a 61-55 victory.
With the win, ISU advanced to the NIT semifinals at 9:30 p.m. on April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where they will face either Nevada or Auburn. The NIT semifinals will be aired on ESPN. Dayton finishes the season with a record of 25-12.