CHARLESTON, S.C. – The University of Dayton men's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Shriners Children's Hospitals Charleston Classic Friday with an 88-81 win over St. John's.  Dayton trailed by two at halftime but led by as much as 12 in the final minute of the game.

The tournament title game will be played Sunday night.

DaRon Holmes II led five Flyers in double figures with 21 points.  Nate Santos added 18, while Enoch Cheeks, Kobe Elvis and Koby Brea added 10.

GAME RECAP
1st Half – St. John's 40, Dayton 38
•    Nate Santos scored five of Dayton's first eight  points, but only played six minutes due to foul trouble.
•    UD led 8-6 at the first media  break.
•    St. John's grabbed its first lead (12-11) with 13:27 remaining.
•    From there it was a one possession game for all but 24 seconds of the half.
•    The period featured five lead changes and nine ties.
•    DaRon Holmes II and Kobe Elvis each led the Flyers with seven points.
•    In Santos' absence, Zimi Nwokeji and Petras Padegimas each added five points off the bench.
2nd Half – Dayton 88, St. John's 81
•    Enoch Cheeks hit a layup to tie the game at 40, but then St. John's scored the next six to take its biggest lead of the day (48-42) with 17:52 left in the game.
•    UD scratched back to tie the game 56-56 five minutes later.
•    SJU took its last lead of the game (59-58) at the 11:46 mark.
•    That's when the Flyers made their move, going on a 9-0 run to hold a 67-59 advantage with 9:33 remaining.
•    The Johnnies could get no closer than six the rest of the game, and Dayton led by as much as 12 as late as 48 seconds to go.
•    Holmes scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half, and Santos 13 of his 18.

BY THE NUMBERS
•    2 – Number 2 Nate Santos filled the stat sheet with 18 points (6-8 FG, 5-6 FT), five rebounds and three assists.
•    23 – Dayton converted 23 of 28 free throws (.821) for the game.  In the second half, UD outscored St. John's 19-2 at the line.  DaRon Holmes II led the Flyers with eight free throws (in nine attempts).
•    6 – Koby Brea led Dayton in rebounding with six.
•    5 – Kobe Elvis had a team-high five assists (against one turnover).
•    4 – Javon Bennett led UD with four steals.
•    2 – Holmes also led the Flyers with two blocked shots.

UP NEXT 
•    Dayton will play sixth-ranked Houston in the tournament's championship game on Sunday.
•    Game time is 8:30 p.m. ET
•    This is the third time in the last four MTEs that Dayton has played in that the Flyers reached the championships game.  UD was second in the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, and won the 2021 ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.
•    This is also the first time since the 2021 ESPN Events Invitational that UD has played a top 10 team.  The Flyers defeated fourth-ranked Kansas in the semifinals of that tournament.