Dayton basketball: Liberty ends Flyers' 33-game non-conference home winning streak

Liberty outscored the Dayton Flyers 6-0 in the final 2 minutes, 8 seconds and won 64-61 on Saturday at UD Arena, ending Dayton’s 33-game winning streak in non-conference home games.

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton finished non-conference play with a record of 9-4. This was its first non-conference loss at home since Nov. 20, 2021, when it fell 87-81 to Austin Peay. That was the third straight loss at home that month.

Liberty (8-4) earned its best victory of the season in its first game against Dayton. The teams will play in Lynchburg, Va., in the 2025-26 season.

Stars of the game: Liberty forward Zach Cleveland scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed 16 of the team’s 28 rebounds.

Amaël L’Etang led Dayton with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting.

Stat of the game: Liberty shot 44.4% (8 of 18) from 3-point range. Dayton shot 33.3% (9 of 27).

Big plays: A 3-point play by Keonte Jones gave Dayton a 61-58 lead with 2:28 to play. Dayton did not score again after that basket.

Colin Porter tied the game with a 3-pointer on Liberty’s next possession. Liberty took a 62-61 lead when Cleveland made 1 of 2 free throws with 43 seconds remaining.

Dayton’s Javon Bennett missed a go-ahead jump shot with 28 seconds to play.

Liberty scored its last basket with 12 seconds to go. Then Dayton’s Jacob Conner missed a game-tying 3 in the final seconds.

Surprising stat line: De’Shayne Montgomery, who had not scored fewer than 11 points in a game this season for Dayton, missed all four of his field-goal attempts and did not score.

Entering the game, Montgomery shared the team lead in scoring (16.4 points per game) with Javon Bennett. They each had 197 points.

Looking ahead: Dayton opens Atlantic 10 Conference play against Fordham (8-4) at 2 p.m. Dec. 31 at UD Arena.

Dayton loses 64-61 to Liberty. Jacob Conner missed a 3 in final seconds. pic.twitter.com/R8CSenMYSV
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) December 20, 2025

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton led by as many as 10 points in the first half and took a 33-29 lead into halftime.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: L’Etang led Dayton with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He made 2 of 3 3-pointers.

Key stat: Dayton made 5 of 12 3s. Liberty made 4 of 9.Big run: Dayton broke open a 12-12 game with an 8-2 run, taking a 22-14 lead with 9 minutes, 43 seconds to play.

Biggest lead: Dayton led 29-19 after a 3 by Bennett at the 6:41 mark. Brett Decker Jr., who scored 12 points in the half, then made two straight 3s for Liberty.

Roster news: Sean Pouedet, a 6-foot-2 guard from Belgium, made his Dayton debut. He was one of the first players off the bench. His only stat in nine minutes was one personal foul.

Famous fan: Former Dayton and big-league pitcher Craig Stammen, the new manager of the San Diego Padres, was honored during a timeout in the first half.