MAUI, Hawai'i – In the semifinals of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, the Virginia Tech men's basketball fell to the hands of Dayton 89-62 at the Lahaina Civic Center.
The Hokies (6-1, 1-0 ACC) could not stop the Flyers' (5-0) offense on Tuesday night, with Obi Toppin leading the way, recording 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds.
Redshirt freshman Landers Nolley II had a team-high 15 points and led Tech in scoring for the fifth time this season out of seven outings. Freshman Hunter Cattoor had 12 points off the bench, hitting a season-high four triples. Cattoor's contribution was a part of Tech's 19 points off the bench despite the loss.
Tech forced 14 turnovers compared to its own 10 miscues, but fell short in the paint, as the Flyers outscored the Hokies 48-24.
THE GAME
Dayton set the tone early, jumping out to a 12-5 lead heading into the first media timeout. Tech would make a run out of the break, though, getting a layup from junior P.J. Horne and a fadeaway from sophomore Isaiah Wilkins to cut Dayton's lead to four at 14-10. But, as was the case all night, when Tech threw a punch, the Flyers threw one back and answered with a run of their own.
Tech trailed 29-23 with just under eight minutes to go in the first when Nolley hit a triple and redshirt freshman Tyrece Radford made a layup under the basket to cut the deficit to 32-28. But Dayton closed out the first half though on a 17-3 run to enter the break leading 49-31.
Seeking a comeback early in the second, Cattoor nailed a much-needed 3-pointer followed by back-to-back layups from guard Nahiem Alleyne. Tech would continue to cut into the deficit making the score 55-41 early in the second. But the Flyers' offense and Toppin were too much, never letting the Hokies within single digits in the second on its way to an 89-62 victory.
QUOTING TECH COACH MIKE YOUNG
Opening statement:
"We tip our cap to a really good Dayton team, an exceptionally well-coached Dayton team," Tech coach Mike Young said. "They took us behind the shed and whipped our hind end. And Coach [Anthony] Grant is great.
"They're going to have a really good year and so are we. They got the better of us today. We'll live to see another day. I'm excited about coming back over tomorrow and representing Virginia Tech."
GAME NOTES
- Nolley hit three triples against Dayton. The forward has now hit 16 3s over his last four games and seven in the tourney.
- Virginia Tech forced 14 turnovers against Dayton and 16 against Michigan State, causing 30 turnovers in two games. It has forced all but one opponent this year (Clemson) into at least 10 turnovers.
- Forward P.J.Horne posted a season-high two blocks and chipped in seven points.
- Junior Wabissa Bede tallied six assists against Dayton. Bede now has 51 assists this season and 20 over his last three games. Defensively, Bede had three steals to tie his season high.
- Freshman Hunter Cattoor had four 3s against Dayton, which is his season high. Cattoor scored 12 points, which is his third double-digit scoring performance in the last four games.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will face BYU (4-3) in the third-place game at 11:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN2.
Gallery: (11/26/2019) 2019 MAUI INVITATIONAL vs. DAYTON