San Juan, PR (Sports Network) - Paul Williams hit the go-ahead three-pointer with just under a minute to play and drained four from the line to seal it, as 18th-ranked Dayton pulled out a 63-59 victory over No. 21 Georgia Tech in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-off.
No. 18 Dayton Tops No. 21 Ga Tech In Puerto Rico, 63-59
Williams finished with 13 points for the Flyers (2-0), who opened their season last Saturday with a 90-80 victory over Creighton. Chris Johnson led Dayton with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Fabrizius contributed 12 points in just seven minutes off the bench.
Dayton will next meet the winner between Villanova and George Mason on Friday in the winner’s bracket of the tournament.
Derrick Favors and Maurice Miller each scored 10 points for Georgia Tech (1-1), which opened its season last Saturday with a 100-59 romp over Florida A&M. The Yellow Jackets will take on the loser between Villanova and George Mason on Friday.
Georgia Tech trailed by as many as 10 early in the second half, but an 8-1 run gave the Yellow Jackets a 57-50 advantage with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.
Dayton clawed back and drew within 57-55 on a three-pointer by Johnson. London Warren then made the first of two from the line at the 2:08 mark to make it a one-point game and a Williams three put the Flyers back on top at 59-57 with 54.3 seconds remaining.
Iman Shumpert turned the ball over at the other end and Williams canned both ends of a one-and-one for a four-point edge.
A dunk by Favors with 17.9 seconds left made it a two-point game, but Williams again hit two from the stripe with 12.7 seconds to play and the Yellow Jackets were unable to answer in the final moments.
Tech had 16 first-half turnovers that led to 16 Dayton points. The Flyers led by as many as 10 in the opening 20 minutes and settled for a 31-22 advantage at the break.
Dayton watched Georgia Tech chip away early in the second half, but again pulled away and grabbed a nine-point edge at 46-37 on a three by Fabrizius with just over 12 minutes remaining.
Favors hit two free throws to pull the Yellow Jackets within one with 8:42 to play and Brian Oliver drilled a three-pointer a few moments later to give Georgia Tech a 49-47 edge. It was Tech's first lead since 10-9.
Dayton connected on 9-of-28 three-point tries, including a 4-for-7 effort from Fabrizius and a 4-for-8 performance from Johnson...The Dayton bench accounted for 47 points, while the starters managed just 16...Tech missed each of its four three-point tries in the first half and finished 2-for-8 from beyond the arc for the contest...Shumpert and Gani Lawal each scored nine for Georgia Tech...The Yellow Jackets finished with 26 turnovers, while the Flyers committed 22.
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