Dayton’s season ends with home loss to Illinois State in NIT quarterfinal

The University of Dayton men’s basketball season came to an end against Illinois State on Wednesday. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks ] Dayton fell behind 13-0 and never led in a 61-55 loss in the quarterfinals of the 2026 National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Javon Bennett was injured in the first half and did not return.

UD struggled from the floor. They made 30 percent of their shots (19-of-63), including 12 percent (3-of-25) from three-point range. Bryce Heard led the Flyers with 12 points while Jordan Derkack finished with 11.

Amael L’Etang had 10 points and six rebounds. TRENDING STORIES: Body camera video shows moments leading up to deadly officer-involved shooting of 44-year-old man Man in multi-county police chase, SWAT standoff gets prison time for federal child porn charges Business owner shares concerns about Cargill’s intentions to close local facility Johnny Kinzinger scored the first six points for the Redbirds while Chase Walker and Boden Skunberg each added layups to give them a 10-0 lead. UD called a timeout, but Mason Klabo’s trey extended the deficit to 13-0.

UD went on a 10-4 run to cut ISU’s lead to 17-10. Malcolm Thomas’ layup got the Flyers within five, 19-14. The Redbirds scored 12 straight points to expand it to 31-14.