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Malachi Smith’s three-point play with eight seconds remaining rescued No. 22 Dayton in a 66-65 victory against visiting UNLV on Tuesday night.

Nate Santos scored 14 points, Zed Key had 13 points, Smith finished with 11 points and five assists and reserve Amael L’Etang added 10 points in the Flyers’ first game of the season as a ranked team.

Dayton (10-2) overcame a four-point deficit in the final 1 1/2 minutes to increase its homecourt winning streak to 25 games.

Smith cut through defenders to get to the lane, finished through contact for the tying bucket and then sank the free throw.

Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 16 points and Jaden Henley had 15 for UNLV (5-5). Julian Rishwain’s fourth 3-point basket of the night with 23 seconds left gave him 12 points.

Rishwain’s 3-pointer put UNLV ahead 55-53 with 3:34 left for its first lead since the start of the second half. Key responded with a three-point play for Dayton.

Thomas went 4-for-4 on free throws during a 49-second span. Henley’s three-point play put UNLV up 62-58 with 1:25 left.

Santos drained a 3-pointer and Smith scored on a drive to the basket, sending the Flyers into the lead with 37 seconds left. After a timeout, Rishwain hit a 3 at the 23-second mark for a 65-63 edge.

Dayton scored the first seven points of the second half in less than 90 seconds to pull ahead in what became an 11-0 run spanning the two halves. Key scored six points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half.

But the Rebels responded to pull even at 40-40 on Brooklyn Hicks’ 3-pointer and stayed close to set up the late-game drama.

UNLV led 28-27 at halftime after Dayton’s 22-14 lead was wiped away by UNLV’s 10-2 run.

No Dayton player had more than five points in the first half. The Flyers shot 2-for-9 on 3s and committed seven turnovers, so the offense was slow in developing as they trailed at halftime for the second game in a row.

–Field Level Media