RJ Davis scores 30 as no. 12 Tar Heels erase 21-point deficit to beat Dayton 92-90

On By Littum

Associated Press

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — RJ Davis scored 30 points, Seth Trimble added 27, and No. 12 North Carolina rallied from a 21-point deficit for a 92-90 victory over Dayton in the Maui Invitational on Monday night.

The Tar Heels (4-1) outscored the Flyers 59-39 in the second half and took the lead for good at 88-87 on Drake Powell’s 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:13 left.

Davis scored 20 points after halftime, including four 3-pointers. The All-American guard shot 10 of 11 free throws and also had seven rebounds and five assists. Trimble shot 10 of 14 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds. Elliot Cadeau scored 10 points.

Nate Santos scored 15 points to lead Dayton (5-1), which led 51-33 at halftime.

Takeaways

Dayton: The Flyers held a 28-4 advantage in bench points at halftime and finished with a 33-13 margin for the game, but were unable to overcome North Carolina’s 27-of-34 shooting from the free throw line.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels buckled defensively after allowing the Flyers to shoot better than 51% (19-of-37) from the field in the first half. Dayton was limited to 35% (13 of 37) on field goals in the second half.

Key moment

Dayton appeared to tie it at 90 on a 3-pointer by Santos in the left corner, but it was determined after a video review that his foot was on the line. Instead, his 2-pointer cut the North Carolina lead to one, and Davis made a pair of free throws with 4.3 seconds to play to stretch it to 92-89.

Key state

Dayton scored 19 points off 12 North Carolina turnovers in the first half, but managed just two points off three turnovers by the Heels after halftime.

Next

North Carolina will play No. 4 Auburn in Tuesday’s semifinals, while Dayton takes on No. 5 at Iowa State.

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