ORLANDO — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team battled to the end against No. 9 BYU Friday night.
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Dayton lost, 83-79, in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.
Senior guard Javon Bennett led UD with 22 points, while Bryce Heard scored a career-high 16.
Amael L’Etang had 13 points while De’Shayne Montgomery had 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Flyer fell to 6-2 overall.
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Dayton never trailed in the first half. Bennett hit back-to-back threes to put them ahead, 15-6. BYU scored nine straight points to tie it 15-15
Bennett buried another trey as UD reclaimed the lead, 18-15. He finished the first half with 17 points as the Flyers led, 36-30, at the break.
Montgomery opened the second with a three-pointer to extend it to 39-30. But the Cougars went on a 15-0 run to take a 45-39 advantage. After Montgomery scored to cut it 45-41, BYU went on its second big run. They outscored the Flyers, 11-2, to expand it to 56-43.
BYU started the second half outscoring, 26-4.
UD slowly chipped into the deficit as Keonte Jones’s layup, L’Etang’s trey, and Heard’s basket cut it to 56-50.
BYU led 67-60 when Jones scored, and Bennett buried a three to cut it to 67-65. Heard’s layup tied it 67-67 with four minutes left.
Robert Wright III’s three-pointer reclaimed the lead for BYU, 70-67. Heard answered with a trey to tied it at 70-70. Richie Saunders’ four-point put the Cougars ahead, 74-70. L’Etang and Saunders exchanged threes as BYU led, 77-73.
The Cougars led, 79-73, but Heard’s three-pointer cut Dayton within three, 79-76.
Dayton had one more chance, trailing 81-79 with three seconds left. L’Etang internationally missed the second free throw, but Saunders grabbed the rebound. He was fouled and sealed the game with two foul shots.
Dayton’s next game will be on Tuesday, Dec. 2, when they host ETSU at 7 p.m.
Pregame coverage on WHIO Radio begins at 6 p.m. The game will also be carried here at WHIO.com.
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