Javon Bennett scores 30 to lead Dayton Flyers to victory against Florida Atlantic in NIT

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Javon Bennett scored a career-high 30 points, falling one 3-pointer short of tying the school record for made 3s in a game, to lead the Dayton Flyers to an 86-79 victory against Florida Atlantic in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

Explore» PHOTOS: Dayton vs. Florida Atlantic

Here’s a quick recap of the game:

What it means: Dayton (23-10) bounced back from a 73-68 overtime loss to Saint Joseph’s in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Friday. The Flyers won a first-round NIT game on the road for the second time in a row. They beat Toledo in the first round in 2022 in their last appearance.

Dayton, making its 28th NIT appearance, improved to 2-0 against Florida Atlantic (18-16), which was making its second NIT appearance.

Star of the game: Bennett made 10 of 16 field goals, including 8 of 12 3-pointers. He reached his previous career high of 26 points as a freshman at Merrimack in March 2023.

Norm Grevey still owns the Dayton record with nine made 3s in a game.

Stat of the game: Dayton made 13 of 30 3s (43.3%), while Florida Atlantic made 9 of 22 (40.9%).

Turning point: Dayton led 44-40 early in the second half. Bennett then made two straight 3s to push the lead to double digits for the first time. The Flyers led by as many as 19 points.

Comeback: Florida Atlantic got as close as five points in the final minute before Dayton sealed the game at the free-throw line.

Looking ahead: Dayton will play at Chattanooga in the second round on Saturday or Sunday. Chattanooga won 109-103 in triple overtime Tuesday at Middle Tennessee State.

HALFTIME RECAP

Malachi Smith made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt in the final seconds of the first half to give Dayton a 44-38 halftime lead.

Here’s a quick recap of the half:

Top players: Enoch Cheeks led Dayton with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.

Kaleb Glenn scored 12 for Florida Atlantic on 4-of-8 shooting.

Key stat: Dayton made 5 of 11 3-pointers. Florida Atlantic made 3 of 9.

Big run: Dayton trailed 33-28 with after a 3-point play by Matas Vokietaitis with 7 minutes, 17 seconds to play in the half. It then began an 9-0 run to take a 36-33 lead with 3:27 to play. Posh Alexander scored the first five points in the run.

Rotation news: Isaac Jack made his first appearance since Feb. 15. He had two points and two rebounds in the half.

Jack missed the last five games of the regular season after undergoing an appendectomy and was in uniform but did not play when Dayton lost to Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament quarterfinals.