Nov. 27 — LAHAINA, Hawaii — Dayton Flyers coach Anthony Grant took the opposite approach from Connecticut coach Dan Hurley, who criticized the officiating Monday and again Tuesday at the Maui Invitational, during his postgame press conference following an 89-84 loss to No. 5 Iowa State.
“What did you think of this blatant foul?” We asked Grant.
Grant paused before saying, “I prefer not to comment. »
With 44 seconds left in a tie game, Dayton forward Zed Key fell with two arms to the face of Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert. Key appeared to be trying to knock the ball out of Gilbert’s hands, but instead hit him in the face.
The officials reviewed the play and called a flagrant foul on Key. Gilbert made both free throws. Then Iowa State got the ball back and Gilbert scored on a layup.
The four-point possession carried Iowa State (4-1) to victory and left Dayton (5-2) contemplating the possibility of leaving Maui winless if it doesn’t upset No. 2 Connecticut (4-2 ), who lost. at Memphis and Colorado in the first two rounds, in the seventh-place game on Wednesday.
“It’s obviously a hard-fought game,” Grant said. “I thought our guys gave a great effort tonight. A quick turnaround from last night. A disappointing finish last night and a disappointing finish tonight. But proud of our guys for the fight they showed. We knew how talented the field was and how much of a challenge it would be for us. We’re just going to keep trying to control the things we can control and keep improving.
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s second loss:
1. Dayton couldn’t stop Iowa State for a long stretch in the second half: The Flyers twice led by nine points in the first half and held a 41-37 lead at halftime. It didn’t last long in the second half.
Iowa State scored the first four points of the second half to tie the game. Then the Cyclones scored on 11 straight possessions in eight minutes.
Dayton did a pretty good job on the offensive end of not falling too far behind. It trailed 64-58 when a turnover finally ended Iowa State’s run.
Dayton had similar difficulty getting stops Monday in a 92-90 loss to No. 12 North Carolina.
“It’s been two games in the second half that we haven’t been able to capitalize on what we were doing offensively,” Grant said. “I thought we were really, really good in both games, in both halves, from an offensive standpoint. We were able to exploit some things there, but you have to be able to stop. You have to be able to get rebounds. You have to keep them out of transition.
“You want to try to learn by winning, and sometimes you learn by taking tough losses. For us, I think from an offensive standpoint, we were able to have some success against the No. 1 ranked defensive team. 1 in the country. And so We have to be better defensively If we can do that, we have a chance to really take our team to another level. It’s difficult at the moment to see opportunities slip through your fingers, because. we had two great opportunities here I have one. another tomorrow. We have to do it. I have a short memory.”
2. Dayton showed strength from 3-point range for the second straight game: The Flyers made 7 of 18 from 3-point range (38.9%), while Iowa State made 4 of 17 (23.5%). ). Against North Carolina, Dayton shot 43.8% (14 of 32)
Enoch Cheeks made 3 of 6 from 3-point range after making 3 of 8 against North Carolina. His game-winning 3-pointer with 5:12 left gave Dayton its final lead of the game, 74-72.
Malachi Smith went 2 of 2 in the opener and 2 of 3 against Iowa State. Nate Santos went 2 of 6 in both games.
3. Gilbert was the difference maker for Iowa State: After North Carolina All-American guard RJ Davis scored 30 points against Dayton, Iowa State’s best player Gilbert scored 24 points from 6 shots of 8. Like Davis, who made 10 of 11 free throws, Gilbert did much of his work at the free throw line, making 12 of 14.
“He’s an absolute warrior,” Iowa State coach TJ Otzenberger said. “He’s the ultimate competitor, a great worker. I’m really proud of him. He put in the work and it happened here today.”
STAR OF THE GAME
Gilbert, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, followed up with a 23-point performance Monday in an 83-81 loss to Auburn with his highest point total of the season. He played his first two seasons at UNLV and scored 16 points against Dayton in a 60-52 victory in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2022.
GAME STATUS
Iowa State made 25 of 29 free throws (86.2%), while Dayton made 19 of 26 (73.1%).
In the final four minutes, Dayton made 2 of 5 free throws and Smith missed the front end of a 1 and 1. Iowa State made 10 of 10 free throws in the same stretch.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Dayton (5-2) will face No. 2 Connecticut (4-2) in the seventh-place game on Wednesday. Play will begin at midnight in Ohio and 7 p.m. in Maui. It will be broadcast on ESPN2. UConn lost 73-72 to Colorado on Tuesday.
