Virginia beats Dayton with 3-point barrage in second half

What it means: Dayton (7-3 overall) fell to 2-3 in games against teams ranked in the top 100 of the Ken Pomeroy ratings. It has victories against Marquette and Georgetown but losses to Cincinnati, Brigham Young and now Virginia.

Virginia (8-1) improved to 4-0 in the series against Dayton. This was the first matchup since 2018.

The Cavaliers picked up their second double-digit victory away from home in a four-day stretch. They won 88-69 at Texas on Wednesday.

Star of the game: Virginia’s Jacari White made 9 of 9 field goals, including 7 of 7 3-pointers, and had 25 points. He made five 3s in the second half.

White made 3 of 3 3s in the previous game. He’s shooting 54.2% (26 of 48).

Cold shooting: Javon Bennett led Dayton with 18 points but made 8 of 22 field goals.

Stat of the game: Led by White, Virginia made 12 of 20 3-pointers (60%). Dayton made 7 of 23 (30%).

Turning point: Dayton trailed 39-38 after a basket by Javon Bennett with 18 minutes, 16 seconds left in the second half. Virginia outscored Dayton 21-3 over the next five-plus minutes. White scored 11 points in that stretch.

Comeback: Dayton faced its biggest deficit, 74-53, with seven minutes to play. The Flyers scored the next 14 points, cutting Virginia’s lead to 74-67 on a dunk by Jordan Derkack with 4:10 to play.

Dayton forced a turnover on Virginia’s next possession. Then Bennett missed a jump shot in the paint. That’s where the comeback stalled. A 3-pointer by White ended the run.

Looking ahead: Dayton gets a week break before playing North Florida at 7 p.m. on Dec. 13 at UD Arena.

HALFTIME RECAP

Dayton trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and faced a 37-33 halftime deficit.

Here’s a quick recap of the first half:

Key players: Bennett led Dayton with nine points on 4-of-10 shooting.

Ugonna Onyenso scored eight points off the bench for Virginia. He made 4 of 4 free throws.

Key stat: Dayton shot 41% (12 of 29) from the field. Virginia shot 55% (12 of 22).

Big plays: Dayton trailed 32-24 with 2 minutes, 21 seconds to play. Dayton guard De’Shayne Montgomery dunked on the next two possessions but received a technical foul for taunting after the second dunk. Virginia took advantage by making two free throws.

Strong finish: A steal by Bennett allowed Dayton to get the final possession of the half and led in a layup by Jaiun Simon.