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.
