Koby Brea of the Dayton Flyers shows emotion after the win over the Nevada Wolf Pack during the first round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Delta Center on March 21, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Nevada looked well on its way to a first-round win in March Madness on Thursday.
The No. 10 Wolf Pack stretched their lead over the No. 7 Dayton Flyers to 56-39 with under eight minutes remaining in the men's NCAA Tournament matchup.
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Then, chaos ensued at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
The Flyers completely wiped out the Wolf Pack's 17-point advantage in less than five minutes of game action thanks to a 17-0 run. The stunning rally was capped by a game-tying 3-pointer from guard Koby Brea at the 2:45 mark.
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On the ensuing possession, Nevada finally snapped its scoreless drought on a jumper from guard Jarod Lucas. But Dayton immediately responded, taking the lead on an impressive and-one finish by forward DaRon Holmes II.
Nevada continued to battle despite the collapse. After each team came up with a stop, guard Kenan Blackshear scored inside to put the Wolf Pack back in front with just over a minute left.
But Dayton came up with some more March magic. Flyers forward Nate Santos converted what proved to be the game-winning layup with 38 seconds left. Then, after a Nevada turnover, Santos knocked down a pair of free throws to push Dayton's lead to three.
The Wolf Pack had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds, but both of their 3-point tries were off the mark.
The Flyers finished the game on a 24-4 run over the final seven minutes and 14 seconds of action. They didn't miss a single field goal attempt during that span.
Nevada, meanwhile, went 2-for-9 with four turnovers after taking a 17-point lead.
“In those situations, it’s easy for somebody to try to, like, just get a home run play, try to make it happen by themselves,” Brea said. “In the situation we were in, I think we did a good job of just staying together and doing it together, taking it one possession at a time.”
Holmes II, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, led Dayton with 18 points and nine rebounds while Brea knocked down five 3-pointers for 15 points. The Flyers' epic comeback marked their first March Madness win since 2015.
Up next for Dayton is a matchup against No. 2 Arizona in the West region on Saturday. The Wildcats rolled past No. 15 Long Beach State 85-65 in the first round on Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
