Dayton basketball: Flyers dominate Bradley in first round of NIT

PEORIA, Ill. — The Dayton Flyers led Bradley by as many as 23 points in the second half and coasted to an 80-66 victory Wednesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at Carver Arena.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (24-11) won its first-round NIT game for the third straight time since a loss to Memphis in 2021. It won at Toledo in 2022 and at Florida Atlantic in 2025.

The Flyers improved to 3-9 against Bradley. This was the first meeting between the programs since 1990.

Bradley (21-13) lost in the first round after reaching the quarterfinals of the NIT last season. It lost to an Atlantic 10 Conference team after beating Loyola Chicago in the first round in 2024 and George Mason in the second round in 2025.

Star of the game: One year after scoring 30 points in the first round against Florida Atlantic, Javon Bennett led Dayton with 25 points. He made 8 of 13 field goals, including 5 of 10 3-pointers.

Stat of the game: Dayton made 21 of 25 free throws. Bradley made 10 of 14.

Key stretch: Dayton stretched its lead to 65-42 with 10 minutes, 48 seconds to play. Bradley answered with four 3s in the next three minutes. Former Wright State guard Alex Huibregtse made three of them.

Bradley got as close as 13 points before Dayton regained control.

Injury news: Bradley’s third-leading scorer, Demarion Burch (8.8 points per game), missed the game with an injury.

Looking ahead: Dayton will play at North Carolina Wilmington (27-6) in the second round at 7 p.m. Saturday. UNC Wilmington won 68-67 at Yale on Tuesday.

Other games: Illinois State beat Kent State 79-58 on Wednesday, and Wake Forest beat Navy 82-72.

No. 4 seed Illinois State will play at No. 1 seed Wake Forest in the second round. The winner of that game will play No. 2 seed Dayton or UNC Wilmington in the quarterfinals.

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton outscored Bradley 9-0 in the last 80 seconds of the first half to build a 47-30 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Javon Bennett led Dayton with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He made 4 of 5 3-pointers. He converted a four-point play in the final seconds of the half.

De’Shayne Montgomery added 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting. He made 5 of 5 free throws.

Key stat: Dayton shot 63.6% (7 of 11) from 3-point range. Bradley shot 44% (3 of 11).

Turning point: Dayton trailed 2-0 after a basket by Bradley on the opening possession of the game. The Flyers scored the next eight points and led the rest of the way.