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Monday, November 25
Lahaina, Hawaii
11:30 PM ET
North Carolina
4-1,0-0ACC
92
vs
90
Dayton
5-1,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
F
Dayton
51
39
90
North Carolina
33
59
92
Seth Trimble
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Trimble & Davis Lead Big Comeback Win Over Dayton, 92-90
November 26, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LAHAINA, HAWAI'I—RJ Davis and Seth Trimble led a furious, 21-point, second-half comeback as 12th-ranked North Carolina raced back to beat Dayton, 92-90, on Monday night at the Lahaina Civic Center.
The win ties the second-largest comeback in Tar Heel history, matching a 21-point, second-half effort against Florida State on January 27, 1993, in Chapel Hill.
UNC advances to meet Auburn on Tuesday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time in the Maui semifinals. The Tigers overcame an 18-point deficit to beat Iowa State on Monday night. Dayton will play the Cyclones in the consolation bracket on Tuesday.
With the victory, Carolina is 36-5 all-time in Hawai'i, including 23-4 in all Maui Invitational games and 19-3 in Lahaina. The Tar Heels improved to 4-1 this season, winning their third outing in a row. Dayton fell to 5-1.
Davis scored a season-high 30 points to lead all scorers, hitting 10 of 11 free throw tries while adding seven rebounds and five assists. He drained four free throws in a row in the final 14.2 seconds to ice the win.
Trimble posted career highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds, marking the first time a UNC guard has had at least 25 points and 10 boards since Cole Anthony had 34 points and 11 rebounds against Notre Dame on November 6, 2019.
Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau pitched in 10 points and five assists as the guard trio of Trimble, Davis and Cadeau combined for 67 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists and six three-pointers in the win.
UNC outscored the Flyers in the second half, 59-39 and shot 59.4 percent while limiting Dayton to 35.1 percent after the break. The Tar Heels committed a season-high 12 turnovers in the first half alone but righted the ship and had just three after halftime to finish with 15.
Carolina shot 59.4 percent in the second half and 51.4 percent in the game as a team, shooting at least 50 percent in the second half for the fourth game in a row. The last time it had a streak that long was in eight straight contests in 2021-22.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina entered the game leading the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 7.8 through the first four games. UNC had eight miscues in the first 8:08 of the game and finished with 12 in the first half.
• There were four ties and seven lead changes in what was a back-and-forth first half until the Flyers broke open the game with a 28-11 run in the final 7:47 of the first half.
• Tar Heel shooters went cold midway through the half, missing 7 of 8 shots at one point and going without a field goal for over six full minutes.
• Dayton used an 11-0 run in 1:18 to take a 34-22 lead and eventually led by as many as 18 at halftime, UNC's largest halftime deficit in two seasons.
• Ten different Flyers scored five hit three-pointers in the first half.
Second Half
• After trailing by as many as 21 early in the 2nd half, Carolina has pulled within eight at 66-58 with 10:11 remaining with an 11-3 run.
• Jalen Washington's three-point play cut the Flyer lead to 81-78 with 4:05 to play.
• Davis gave Carolina its first lead since the early going with a three-pointer that made the score 85-84 with 4:05 to go. Dayton replied with a three-pointer of its own, only to see Drake Powell's three make it 88-87 after an intense sequence.
• Davis hit two free throws that made the score 90-87 in UNC's favor before the Flyers' Nate Santos hit a shot that officials initially credited as a three-pointer to tie it at 90-all with 6.1 seconds to go. A replay review revealed Santos had his foot on the three-point line, however, making the score 90-89 Tar Heels.
• Davis hit two more free throws for the final margin of 92-90, reaching his season scoring high.
The win ties the second-largest comeback in Tar Heel history, matching a 21-point, second-half effort against Florida State on January 27, 1993, in Chapel Hill.
UNC advances to meet Auburn on Tuesday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time in the Maui semifinals. The Tigers overcame an 18-point deficit to beat Iowa State on Monday night. Dayton will play the Cyclones in the consolation bracket on Tuesday.
With the victory, Carolina is 36-5 all-time in Hawai'i, including 23-4 in all Maui Invitational games and 19-3 in Lahaina. The Tar Heels improved to 4-1 this season, winning their third outing in a row. Dayton fell to 5-1.
Davis scored a season-high 30 points to lead all scorers, hitting 10 of 11 free throw tries while adding seven rebounds and five assists. He drained four free throws in a row in the final 14.2 seconds to ice the win.
Trimble posted career highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds, marking the first time a UNC guard has had at least 25 points and 10 boards since Cole Anthony had 34 points and 11 rebounds against Notre Dame on November 6, 2019.
Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau pitched in 10 points and five assists as the guard trio of Trimble, Davis and Cadeau combined for 67 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists and six three-pointers in the win.
UNC outscored the Flyers in the second half, 59-39 and shot 59.4 percent while limiting Dayton to 35.1 percent after the break. The Tar Heels committed a season-high 12 turnovers in the first half alone but righted the ship and had just three after halftime to finish with 15.
Carolina shot 59.4 percent in the second half and 51.4 percent in the game as a team, shooting at least 50 percent in the second half for the fourth game in a row. The last time it had a streak that long was in eight straight contests in 2021-22.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina entered the game leading the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 7.8 through the first four games. UNC had eight miscues in the first 8:08 of the game and finished with 12 in the first half.
• There were four ties and seven lead changes in what was a back-and-forth first half until the Flyers broke open the game with a 28-11 run in the final 7:47 of the first half.
• Tar Heel shooters went cold midway through the half, missing 7 of 8 shots at one point and going without a field goal for over six full minutes.
• Dayton used an 11-0 run in 1:18 to take a 34-22 lead and eventually led by as many as 18 at halftime, UNC's largest halftime deficit in two seasons.
• Ten different Flyers scored five hit three-pointers in the first half.
Second Half
• After trailing by as many as 21 early in the 2nd half, Carolina has pulled within eight at 66-58 with 10:11 remaining with an 11-3 run.
• Jalen Washington's three-point play cut the Flyer lead to 81-78 with 4:05 to play.
• Davis gave Carolina its first lead since the early going with a three-pointer that made the score 85-84 with 4:05 to go. Dayton replied with a three-pointer of its own, only to see Drake Powell's three make it 88-87 after an intense sequence.
• Davis hit two free throws that made the score 90-87 in UNC's favor before the Flyers' Nate Santos hit a shot that officials initially credited as a three-pointer to tie it at 90-all with 6.1 seconds to go. A replay review revealed Santos had his foot on the three-point line, however, making the score 90-89 Tar Heels.
• Davis hit two more free throws for the final margin of 92-90, reaching his season scoring high.
Team Stats
UD
UNC
FG%
.432
.519
3FG%
.438
.391
FT%
.800
.794
RB
35
37
TO
10
15
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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