DAYTON – The University of Dayton men's basketball team fell in a close one to No. 25 Mississippi State at home Friday evening in front of a sellout crowd of 13,174.
 
 Dayton led 51-44 with 6:19 to play, but Mississippi State ended the game with a 21-7 run to win by seven.  Mississippi State hit three 3-pointers in the final four minutes to put the game away. 

Ryan Mikesell led Dayton with 15 points, while Jalen Crutcher had 11 points, 7 assists and 3 steals.  Quinndary Weatherspoon led all scorers with 21 points.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Half: Dayton 29, Mississippi State 26

• There was never more than a 4-point lead for either team throughout the first 10 minutes.
• Dayton took a 20-11 lead at the 8:14 mark, forcing a Mississippi State timeout.
• Dayton's defense held Mississippi State to 11 points and 29% shooting through the first 12 minutes.
• Mississippi State ended the half on a 7-0 run to trim the lead to just three points.
• Josh Cunningham led the Flyers with nine points in the opening half.

 2nd Half: Mississippi State 65, Dayton 58

• Jordan Davis opened scoring in the second half with a layup, but Mississippi State went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 33-31.
• The Flyers answered with their own 7-0 run later in the half to make it 45-40 with 11:40 to play.
• Trey Landers turned a Mississippi State turnover into points with a layup with 6:19 left to give UD a 51-44 lead.
• Mississippi State hit back three pointers to take a 56-53 lead with 2:17 left
• Nick Weatherspoon hit another three with 27.7 left to push Mississippi State's lead to six with just 27.7 seconds left in the game.
• Jalen Crutcher made a 3-pointer with 14 seconds to go the next possession for the Flyers, but a wide open fastbreak layup from Quinndary Weatherspoon and a pair of free throws from Weatherspoon in the final 12 seconds iced the game for the Bulldogs.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Mikesell was joined in double figures scoring by Jalen Crutcher and Josh Cunningham, who each scored 11.
• Cunningham scored his 11 off the bench.  He did not start due to suffering from food poisoning and missing practice for the last three days.
• Freshman Frankie Policelli made his Flyer debut.
• The Flyers had their second-worst shooting night of the young season, connecting on 41% of their shots for the night.
• Mississippi State made 80% (8-for-10) of their free throws while Dayton made 37% (3-for-8).
• Jalen Crutcher recorded his fourth game with seven assists this season.
• Dayton led for 28:28 of game time.

UP NEXT
• Dayton will face off against Detroit Mercy at UD Arena next Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. ET.