LAHAINA, Maui – The University of Dayton men's basketball team fell in dramatic fashion to No. 12 North Carolina on Tuesday, dropping the quarterfinal showdown with the Tar Heels 92-90 at the Maui Invitational. This is the fifth trip to the Maui Invitational, with the Flyers last winning the tournament in 2003.
 
Six Flyers scored in double figures on the night, with Nate Santos leading the way with 15. He came inches short of making it 16, however, as his potential game-tying three-point shot with six seconds remaining was ruled a two-pointer after review.
 
Freshman Amaël L'Etang had 13 points for the Flyers, while redshirt junior Malachi Smith added 12, senior Enoch Cheeks and redshirt senior Posh Alexander had 11 each, and fellow redshirt senior Zed Key tossed in 10.
 
North Carolina held the shooting advantage from the floor, hitting 52-percent for the game. Dayton shot 43-percent overall and 44-percent from three. The biggest disparity came at the charity stripe, as UNC attempted over twice as many free throws (34) as UD (15).

Dayton is now 5-1 on the year, while North Carolina is 4-1.
 
GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Half: Dayton 51, North Carolina 33
• Dayton outpaced North Carolina 31-13 over the final 9:06 of the half.
• The Flyers forced the Tar Heels into 12 turnovers, a season-high for UNC, leading to 19 points for UD.
• Dayton's bench scored 28 points in the first half, led by redshirt senior Posh Alexander with 11.
• UD's defense held North Carolina to no field goals over the final 3:25 of the half.
• The Flyers' big run started with Alexander giving UD the lead on an old-fashioned three-point play, finishing through contact and knocking down the free throw to put Dayton ahead.
• Freshman Hamad Mousa drained a three at 7:47 to give the Flyers a four-point advantage
• Fellow freshman Amaël L'Etang knocked down his second three of the half to put UD ahead seven
• Senior Nate Santos connected on his first three of the contest at 6:48 
2nd Half: North Carolina 92, Dayton 90
• North Carolina roared back, erasing a deficit as large as 20 points.
• Dayton was out-scored 12-6 over the final 2:50 of play.
• L'Etang knocked down a clutch three to put UD ahead four with just under three minutes to play.
• After the Tar Heels took a brief lead, Malachi Smith struck back with a long ball of his own to re-gain the advantage for the Flyers.
• A three by North Carolina's Powell with 1:13 remaining gave UNC the lead for good.
• Santos sunk what appeared to be a contested three from the corner to tie the game with six seconds remaining, but it was ruled his toe was on the line and left Dayton behind by a point.
• R.J. Davis sunk his final two free throws with four seconds remaining to give North Carolina their final total of 92.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• After forcing 12 turnovers in the first half, Dayton only forced the Tar Heels into three in the second stanza.
• The Flyers had their best shooting night of the season from behind the arc, setting season-bests in both total makes (14) and percentage (44-percent).
• UD's lone free throw miss of the second half came as Malachi Smith attempted to extend the game with an intentional miss.
• All 10 Flyers that saw action in the contest scored, including six with double figures.
• Dayton's bench out-scored North Carolina's, 33-13.
• UNC was led by R.J. Davis and Seth Trimble, who scored 30 and 27 points, respectively.
• Enoch Cheeks added eight rebounds (four offensive, four defensive) to his 11 points.
• Posh Alexander led UD with a game-high six assists.
• Javon Bennett added four assists, with zero turnovers.

 
UP NEXT
• Dayton will continue tournament play on the consolation side of the bracket, taking on No. 5-ranked Iowa State on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET at the Lahaina Civic Center.