Dayton 80, Wake Forest 76
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - Paul Williams scored 18 points, Chris Johnson hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute and Dayton beat Wake Forest 80-76 in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic on Thursday night.
Johnson's shot from the corner gave Dayton (3-1) a 77-75 lead with 35.4 seconds left. Wake Forest (3-1) turned the ball over on its next possession, and then fouled Williams, who made 1 of 2 free throws for a three-point advantage with 9.2 seconds to go.
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After Wake Forest's Tony Chennault connected on one of two from the foul line, Johnson made two free throws for an 80-76 lead.
A back-and-forth contest saw Dayton go up 67-66 with 4:23 remaining on Williams three-pointer. Wake Forest responded with five straight points, all from Travis McKie, to take a four-point lead.
Matt Kavanaugh had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Dillard finished with 15 points for Dayton.
Wake Forest got 20 points from Travis McKie. C.J. Harris added 18.`
Chase Fischer connected from beyond the arc and Harris hit a short jumper as Wake Forest took a 61-55 lead with eight minutes left.
Wake Forest grabbed a 46-44 advantage on Fischer's 3-pointer six minutes into the second half.
Williams hit three 3's as Dayton went ahead 44-37 with 16 1/2 minutes to play.
Harris had 12 first-half points, including a late 3 that pulled Wake Forest even at 33. There were six ties and eight lead changes during the first half.
Dillard hit a 3 as Dayton scored the game's first seven points. Wake Forest, keyed by long-range jumpers by Harris and McKie, then scored eight points in a row.
Both teams went through a cool stretch after the strong starts. A pair of baskets by Kavanaugh put Dayton up 18-17 midway through the half.
Kavanaugh had 10 points in the opening 20 minutes.
The game marked the first time the teams played each other since Dayton beat Wake Forest in a matchup of Top 20 teams in 1960.