DAYTON — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team survived a near buzzer-beater Saturday afternoon in a 77-76 win over the Duquesne Dukes at the UD Arena.
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Malachi Smith made one of two foul shots with six seconds left. Tre Dinkens miss a three-pointer at the buzzer for the Dukes.
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Duquesne led by as much as 12 points in the first half, 35-23, with 6:27 left in the first half. Dayton cut the halftime deficit to four points, 44-40.
Javon Bennett’s steal led to an Isaac Jack to give UD its first lead of the game, 47-46, with 17:08 remaining. It remained close throughout the second half, but the Dukes led, 65-59, with 6:59 left.
Zed Key and Cheeks combined to score six straight points to tie it at 65-65 with 5:41 to go. But Duquesne led 69-66 with 3:42 left.
Key’s dunk and Smith’s layup gave the Flyers a 70-69 advantage. Bennett’s jumper and two free throws gave Dayton its largest lead, 74-69, with 52 seconds left.
Maximus Edwards made two foul shots with 28 seconds remaining to cut it to 74-71. Smith turned it over to give the Dukes the ball with 27 seconds left. Key came up with a big steal with 20 seconds and got fouled. He made two free throws to extend it to 76-71.
Dinkens’ three cut it 76-74 with 13 seconds left. Smith committed another turnover and Cam Crawford’s layup tied it at 76-76 with eight seconds to play.
Smith got fouled by Crawford and made one of two free throws to put UD ahead, 77-76. Dinkins had the ball in the final seconds. He created enough space to get off a three-pointer but missed at the buzzer.
Enoch Cheeks led Dayton with 19 points while Zed Key came off the bench to score 18. Smith added 12.
UD improves 18-8 overall, and 8-5 in the Atlantic 10.
The Flyers will have six days off in between games. They will play at Loyola Chicago on Friday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.
Pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. on WHIO Radio. The game will also be broadcast here at WHIO.com.
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