Cheeks scores 20 as Dayton sends No. 2 UConn down to 3rd straight loss, 85-67
Dayton guard Enoch Cheeks celebrates after an 85-67 win against UConn in an NCAA college basketball game at the Maui Invitational Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Credit: AP/Lindsey Wasson
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Enoch Cheeks scored 20 points to lead Dayton to an 85-67 win over No. 2 UConn in the seventh-place game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday night.
The Flyers (6-2) got 18 points from Nate Santos, 16 from Posh Alexander and 15 from Zed Key, who also led the team with nine rebounds.
Cheeks shot 8 of 12 from the field including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Alex Karaban made four of his team’s eight 3-pointers and scored 15 of his team-high 21 points in the first half to lead the Huskies (4-3), who lost all three games they played at the tournament.
A day after he scored a career-best 20 points against Colorado, Liam McNeeley went scoreless on 0-for-9 shooting against the Flyers.
Karaban hit a 3-pointer that put UConn ahead 30-27 with 4:34 left before halftime, but Dayton closed out the first half on a 15-4 run to take a 41-34 halftime lead.
Takeaways
UConn: All three of the Huskies’ losses on Maui came against unranked teams. They dropped their first two games — against Memphis on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday — by a combined three points.
From left, Dayton forward Nate Santos, Dayton head coach Anthony Grant, guard Malachi Smith and guard Hamad Mousa (10) celebrate an 85-67 win over UConn in an NCAA college basketball game at the Maui Invitational Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Credit: AP/Lindsey Wasson
Dayton: The Flyers made 27 of 30 free throws and shot better than 47% from behind the arc (8 of 17). They went 25 of 50 from the field overall.
Key moment
UConn got within 52-49 on Solo Ball's bucket in transition at the 11:20 mark of the second half, but Dayton found some separation with Alexander’s three-point play that stretched it back to a six-point lead with 10:34 to play.
Key stat
Dayton finished plus-16 in rebounding margin, including a 32-17 advantage on the defensive glass.
Up next
UConn hosts Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday, while Dayton plays host to Western Michigan on Tuesday night.
