Jordan Derkack made five free throws and Javon Bennett and Bryce Heard hit 3-pointers in overtime to lift Dayton to an 84-79 win over Georgetown in overtime Thursday in the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Flyers (6-1) will play No. 9 BYU in the championship game Friday. The Hoyas (5-1) will play Miami in the third-place game. BYU defeated Miami 72-62 in the early game Thursday.
The Hoyas went on a 16-2 run to tie the game with 35 seconds in regulation and Bennett missed a jumper in the final seconds to prompt overtime.
Georgetown’s KJ Lewis hit a 3-pointer for the first points of the extra session, but Bennett, Derkack and Heard ripped off the next eight to put Dayton ahead for good.
Amael L’Etang led Dayton with 18 points, Montgomery and Bennett both had 13 and Derkack scored 12 for the Flyers.
Malik Mack scored a season-high 24 to lead the Hoyas. Lewis scored 19 and Julius Halaifonua added 16.
The Flyers led 67-53 with 5:46 left, but the Hoyas went on a mad scramble to tie the game.
Halaifonua hit a turn-around jumper with 1:19 left to cut it to 69-67. De’Shayne Montgomery was then called for an offensive foul for the Flyers, which set up a pair of free throws by Isaiah Abraham to tie the game with 35 seconds left.
The Flyers led by as many as 15 in the first half as Montgomery scored 10 and the Flyers outrebounded the Hoyas 21-17.
Dayton jumped to a 24-12 lead at the 10-minute mark when Derkack hit the Flyers’ fifth 3-pointer of the half.
A Keonte Jones tip-in and a Bennett three-point play made it 34-19 with 5:24 left. Malcolm Thomas soon added a dunk.
Lewis scored seven straight Georgetown points, finished off with three free throws after he was fouled on a 3-point shot. Jayden Fort’s layup pulled the Hoyas within 40-31 by halftime.
The Hoyas went on a 12-3 run to start the second half to tie the game on Halaifonua’s 3-pointer. They held a brief lead when Lewis made one free throw at the 14:24 mark.
The Flyers answered with a 17-4 run to retake control.
–Field Level Media
