Mustapha Amzil hit a high-arching shot from the lane for a buzzer beater Friday as Dayton stunned No. 4 Kansas 74-73 in the semifinals of the ESPN Events Invitational at Kissimmee, Fla.
Dayton (3-3) overcame a 10-point halftime deficit by forging an 18-3 flurry that included eight consecutive makes to take a 55-52 lead with 13:25 remaining.
Still, the Flyers trailed by three points inside the final minute before Malachi Smith connected with 44 seconds left and Dayton got the ball back on a charging call against the Jayhawks’ David McCormack.
McCormack blocked a shot by Smith before Amzil retrieved the miss and put up his game-winner that bounced high off the front rim before dropping in.
The victory pushes the Flyers into the tournament championship game on Sunday. Kansas dropped to 4-1 after bidding for a seventh straight in-season tournament crown, a streak that began in 2014.
Five scorers cracked double figures for Dayton, including a 16-point effort by DaRon Holmes. Elijah Weaver and Toumani Camara added 14 each, while Smith and Koby Brea had 10 apiece. Amzil had just four points in 15 minutes off the bench.
The Flyers committed a whopping 20 turnovers, including three straight during a stretch when Kansas regained in the lead late in the game. But Dayton shot 52.7 percent and pulled off the upset after three straight losses to Massachusetts-Lowell, Lipscomb and Austin Peay.
Ochai Agbaji led the Jayhawks with 21 points, while Christian Braun and Remy Martin each scored 17.
Kansas jumped to a 13-2 margin, including a 9-0 run, and led 45-35 at halftime behind 13 first-half points from Agbaji and 10 from Braun. The Jayhawks forced eight turnovers, scoring 13 points off those opportunities, while committing just one first-half turnover.
Braun added five rebounds but drew a technical for taunting late in the half.
Holmes, Brea and Camara each netted eight points for Dayton, which never mounted anything more than a 4-0 run but remained competitive despite canning just two first-half treys.
Dayton, one of the nation’s youngest teams with 12 freshmen, captured the tournament championship in 2011 when it was known as the Old Spice Classic.
–Field Level Media
