Dayton tangles with No. 17 UConn in Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Nov 21, 2014 - 4:29 PM San Juan, PR (SportsNetwork.com) - Coming off a thrilling victory in the first round, the Dayton Flyers will face a stern test against the 17th-ranked Connecticut Huskies in the second round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Coliseo Roberto Clemente.

Devon Scott's tip-in as time wound down lifted Dayton to a 55-53 victory over Texas A&M in the opening round of this three-day tournament. The win came on the heels of a 76-52 triumph for the Flyers over Alabama A&M in their season debut.

UConn also is 2-0 entering this contest after grinding out wins over Bryant (66-53) and the College of Charleston (65-57), the second of which came during the first round of this event.

Although UConn has the more prestigious basketball history, it is Dayton that owns a 2-0 lead in the series. The Flyers earned an 80-66 win in 2000, and a 76-75 victory back in 1985. The winner this time advances to the championship round on Sunday to take on either Boston College or West Virginia.

Dayton trailed for the final eight minutes against Texas A&M, but never by more than five points. Keeping things close finally paid off with two seconds to play, when Scott tipped in a missed layup from Scoochie Smith to push them to the victory. Dayton overcame a 35.8 percent shooting effort, and a 47-26 deficit on the boards, thanks in part to 21 forced turnovers.

Dyshawn Pierre and Kyle Davis headed up the offensive effort for the Flyers on Thursday, with Pierre netting 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while Davis had 10 on a 4-of-8 effort of his own. Smith missed more shots than just his final layup attempt, as he sank just 1-of-9 in the game to finish with three points. Pierre has been in double figures in each of the first two games, while shooting 71.4 percent from the field and grabbing 12 total rebounds. Davis (11.5 ppg) is off to a nice start as well, while Darrell Davis managed only three points against A&M after scoring 17 in the opener. Smith has struggled with his shot (.267 FG percentage), but he has 11 total assists and six steals.

Tough defense and timely scoring from Ryan Boatright keyed UConn to victory yet again on Thursday. Boatright netted 19 points, while the Huskies limited the Cougars to 43.5 percent shooting in the contest. At the other end, the Huskies were less-than-stellar, shooting just 44.7 percent overall, although they did sink 63.2 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.

Boatright has clearly taken a lot on himself this season as he steps into the primary role for the Huskies. He has netted 43 points combined across the first two games, while managing a team-high 10 assists and ranking second on the team with 14 rebounds. Amida Brimah hasn't been as much of a force on the boards as coach Kevin Ollie may like (4.5 rpg), but he has scored a total of 26 points in the first two games, while blocking six shots. Highly-touted recruit Daniel Hamilton had a strong second showing, after stumbling in his debut, as he contributed 15 points against Charleston.