NEW YORK—The Dayton Flyers came flying out of the gates in the first semifinal of the NIT Tournament at MSG on Tuesday night en route to an early seven-point lead three minutes into the first half.
They led for all but two minutes of the entire game. However, the Mississippi Rebels put up a fight throughout and gave themselves a chance to win at the end.
With the Rebels down two with less than 15 seconds remaining, Trevor Gaskins drove the lane, blew by his defender, and came face-to-face with the basket. An easy tying layup turned into a miss and ended Ole Miss’s hopes of reaching the NIT Championship game as the Flyers held on for a 68–63 victory.
The Flyers went into halftime with a 34–30 lead and never trailed in the second half. Dayton’s biggest lead of 11 came off a high-flying fast-break dunk by Chris Johnson.
“We did a good job in the first half but not as good as we wanted to,” Johnson said. “We came out in the second half trying to defend in transition and rebounding and I think we did a better job in the second half.”
Emotions ran high late in the game as a frustrated Reginald Buckner went for a rebound and got tied up with Dayton’s Johnson. Buckner attempted to pull the ball away but Johnson wouldn’t let go. Whistles blew signaling a tie-up, leading Buckner to throw his elbow at Johnson’s throat for a technical foul.
Johnson took the technical free throws for Dayton to extend the lead to six. Momentum swung toward the Flyers, but the Rebels managed to cut it to two off a turnaround jumper by Murphy Holloway and two free throws by Chris Warren.
Holloway then had another chance to tie it at the foul line with 35.8 seconds left, but only made one free throw to cut the lead to 64–63. The one-point deficit was the closest the Rebels would get as the Flyers pulled it out in the end with clutch free throws.
Johnson finished with a game-high 22 points and 9 rebounds. Dayton coach Brian Gregory said, “Chris is our lone big guy out there, and he did a pretty good job.”
Dayton secured its first appearance in the championship game since winning their second NIT title in 1968. After a season of losing close games, which ultimately led to their snubbing by the NCAA Tournament committee, the Flyers showed toughness and maturity in holding onto the victory against Ole Miss.
Ole Miss fell in the NIT semifinal for the second time in the last three seasons and has never reached an NIT championship game.
“For some reason, I had a feeling that something good was going to happen to these guys,” Gregory said. After a disappointing season in which they were favored to win the Atlantic 10 conference, the Flyers can finally be proud of what they have accomplished.
The Flyers will face North Carolina in the championship game on Thursday. UNC defeated Rhode Island in overtime 68–67.
They led for all but two minutes of the entire game. However, the Mississippi Rebels put up a fight throughout and gave themselves a chance to win at the end.
With the Rebels down two with less than 15 seconds remaining, Trevor Gaskins drove the lane, blew by his defender, and came face-to-face with the basket. An easy tying layup turned into a miss and ended Ole Miss’s hopes of reaching the NIT Championship game as the Flyers held on for a 68–63 victory.
The Flyers went into halftime with a 34–30 lead and never trailed in the second half. Dayton’s biggest lead of 11 came off a high-flying fast-break dunk by Chris Johnson.
“We did a good job in the first half but not as good as we wanted to,” Johnson said. “We came out in the second half trying to defend in transition and rebounding and I think we did a better job in the second half.”
Emotions ran high late in the game as a frustrated Reginald Buckner went for a rebound and got tied up with Dayton’s Johnson. Buckner attempted to pull the ball away but Johnson wouldn’t let go. Whistles blew signaling a tie-up, leading Buckner to throw his elbow at Johnson’s throat for a technical foul.
Johnson took the technical free throws for Dayton to extend the lead to six. Momentum swung toward the Flyers, but the Rebels managed to cut it to two off a turnaround jumper by Murphy Holloway and two free throws by Chris Warren.
Holloway then had another chance to tie it at the foul line with 35.8 seconds left, but only made one free throw to cut the lead to 64–63. The one-point deficit was the closest the Rebels would get as the Flyers pulled it out in the end with clutch free throws.
Johnson finished with a game-high 22 points and 9 rebounds. Dayton coach Brian Gregory said, “Chris is our lone big guy out there, and he did a pretty good job.”
Dayton secured its first appearance in the championship game since winning their second NIT title in 1968. After a season of losing close games, which ultimately led to their snubbing by the NCAA Tournament committee, the Flyers showed toughness and maturity in holding onto the victory against Ole Miss.
Ole Miss fell in the NIT semifinal for the second time in the last three seasons and has never reached an NIT championship game.
“For some reason, I had a feeling that something good was going to happen to these guys,” Gregory said. After a disappointing season in which they were favored to win the Atlantic 10 conference, the Flyers can finally be proud of what they have accomplished.
The Flyers will face North Carolina in the championship game on Thursday. UNC defeated Rhode Island in overtime 68–67.
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