Three days after a 70-62 loss to Virginia Commonwealth ended their dreams of playing in the NCAA tournament, the Flyers focused on the next goal: keeping their season alive in the National Invitation Tournament.
Dayton did that in dominant fashion, building a 17-point halftime lead that ballooned to as many as 23 points in the second half and then coasting to an 80-66 victory Wednesday against the Bradley Braves in the first round.
“We got our heart broken Sunday,” Dayton guard De’Shayne Montgomery said. “Everybody used that as fuel for this tournament. We want to be dancing, but we’re still playing with each other at the end of the day. We’re grateful for that.”
Dayton (24-11), the No. 2 seed in its corner of the bracket in the 32-team event, will play on the road again in the second round against North Carolina Wilmington (27-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Trask Coliseum.
Dayton won a 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. It has not advanced past the second round since winning the NIT in 2010.
Dayton made its 29th NIT appearance, once short of the all-time record owned by St. John’s, and its fifth in coach Anthony Grant’s nine seasons.
“We didn’t reach our goal,” Dayton guard Javon Bennett said, “but it’s another opportunity to play, and we want to make it as far as possible.”
Here are three takeaways from Dayton’s 35th game:
Credit: David Jablonski
1: Bennett delivered another strong performance in the first round: One year after making 8 of 12 3-pointers and scoring 30 points in the first round in an 86-79 victory against Florida Atlantic, Bennett scored 25 points. He made 8 of 13 field goals, including 5 of 10 3-pointers.
Bennett made two 3s in the first three minutes. His 4-point play in the final seconds of the first half capped a 9-0 run in an 80-second stretch, giving Dayton a 47-30 halftime lead.
“I came with the same mentality I did last year,” Bennett said. “I’m just trying to help my team win. And I found my shot early in the game, and it just continued throughout the whole game.”
2: Dayton leaned on one of its strengths: Dayton made 21 of 25 free throws. Bradley made 10 of 14.
Dayton has made 20 or more free throws three times in the last four games and 18 times this season.
Dayton has made 665 free throws this season. That’s the third-most in program history and the most since the 1950s. The Flyers made 759 in 32 games in the 1953-54 season and 671 in 25 games in the 1954-55 season.
Seven players made at least two free throws against Bradley.
“I thought we did a good job,” Grant said. “The coaches put together a good scouting report. The guys did a good job showing maturity and coming out and playing well tonight.”
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
3: Dayton never let Bradley make a serious run: 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. He led Bradley with 19 points.
Bradley got as close as 13 points before Dayton regained control.
Montgomery scored 14 points. Bryce Heard scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting. Amaël L’Etang had 11 points and eight rebounds.
“I thought we played well on both sides,” Grant said. “Unfamiliar opponent. Such a quick turnaround. We really don’t know what to expect.”
The Flyers improved to 3-9 against Bradley. This was the first meeting between the programs since 1990.
Bradley (21-13), led by coach Brian Wardle, 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.
“When you look at what they’ve done in their league over the last four years, it’s just really impressive,” Grant said. “Brian does a terrific job with the stuff that he runs. Over the course of the last couple of days, the emphasis has been on making sure we understood what we needed to do. And I thought the guys did a really good job of making of making it difficult for them.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Dayton at UNC Wilmington
When: 7 p.m., Saturday
Where: Trask Coliseum
What: Second round of NIT
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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