3 takeaways from Dayton’s loss to Iowa State at the Maui Invitational

“What do you think of the flagrant foul?” Grant was asked.

Grant paused before saying, “I’d rather not comment.”

With 44 seconds left in a tied game, Dayton forward Zed Key landed two arms on the face of Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert. Key appeared to try to knock the ball out of Gilbert’s hands, but instead hit him in the face.

The referees reviewed the play and assessed a flagrant foul on Key. Gilbert hit both free throws. Then Iowa State got the ball back and Gilbert scored a layup.

The four-point possession gave Iowa State (4-1) the win and gave Dayton (5-2) hope for the possibility of leaving Maui winless if it doesn’t upset No. 2 Connecticut (4-2), which lost against Memphis and Colorado in the first two rounds, in the seventh-place game on Wednesday.

“Obviously a hard-fought game,” Grant said. “I think our guys put in a great effort tonight. A quick recap from last night. A disappointing end last night and a disappointing end tonight. But we are proud of our boys for the fight they showed. We knew how talented the field was and how challenging it would be for us. We’re just going to keep trying to control the things we can control and keep improving. And we have another opportunity tomorrow.”

Photo credit: David Jablonski

Photo credit: David Jablonski

Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s second loss:

1. Dayton couldn’t stop Iowa State for long in the second half: The Flyers led by nine points twice in the first half and had a 41-37 advantage 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 11 straight possessions in an eight-minute span.

Dayton did a good job on offense of not falling too far behind. It was down 64-58 when a turnover finally ended Iowa State’s run.

Dayton had similar trouble getting stops in a 92-90 loss to No. 12 North Carolina on Monday.

“Those are two games in the second half where we weren’t able to capitalize defensively on what we were doing offensively,” Grant said. “I thought from an attacking perspective we were really, really good in both games and both halves. We were able to take advantage of a few things there, but you have to be able to get stops. You have to be able to get rebounds. You have to keep them away from the crossing.

“You want to try to learn by winning, and sometimes you learn by taking tough losses. As for us, I think we had some success from an offensive standpoint against the No. 1 defensive team in the country. That’s why we have to be better defensively. If we can do that, we have the chance to really take our team to a new level. At the moment it’s hard to see how you’re missing out on opportunities because we had two great chances here. We have another one tomorrow. We have to have short memories.”

Photo credit: David Jablonski

Photo credit: David Jablonski

2. Dayton showed strength from 3-point range for the second straight game: The Flyers made 7 of 18 3-point shots (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 3-pointers after going 3 of 8 against North Carolina. His game-winning 3-pointer gave Dayton a 74-72 lead with 5:12 to play.

Malachi Smith made 2 of 2 in the first game and 2 of 3 against Iowa State. Nate Santos made 2 of 6 in both games.

3. Gilbert was the difference for Iowa State: After North Carolina All-American guard RJ Davis scored 30 points against Dayton, Iowa State’s top player Gilbert scored 24 points on 6-of-8 shooting. 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 is the ultimate competitor, a great worker. I’m really proud of him. He puts in the work and today she showed up here for him.”

STAR OF THE MATCH

Gilbert, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, posted his highest point total of the season after a 23-point performance in an 83-81 loss to Auburn on Monday. He played his first two seasons at UNLV and scored 16 points against Dayton in a 60-52 win in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2022.

STATUS OF THE GAME

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 two of five 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.

The look forward

Dayton (5-2) will face No. 2 Connecticut (4-2) in the seventh-place game on Wednesday. The game starts at midnight in Ohio and 7 p.m. in Maui. It will air on ESPN2. UConn lost 73-72 to Colorado on Tuesday.