No. 4 Kansas clinched its third Maui Invitational title Wednesday evening by ousting Dayton in a 90-84 overtime thriller. The Jayhawks got a combined 60 points from their two stars -- Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike each touched a career high with 31 and 29, respectively -- to pull away from the Flyers late. The 7-foot Azubuike scored nine of KU's 17 points in the overtime period before fouling out. It's the second time in the last five years Kansas has won the Maui Invitational. It defeated Chaminade, BYU and Dayton en route to the title.
Kansas appeared on its way to winning in regulation over the Flyers, but Dayton, as was the case all day, did not go quietly into that good night. KU led 73-70 with under 20 seconds to play in the second half before Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher did this.
Crutcher finished with 12 points, all of which came from 3-pointers. He was one of four Dayton players who finished scoring in double figures, with Ryan Mikesell and Obi Toppin adding 19 and 18, respectively. Toppin added nine boards, three blocks and one doozy of a Steph Curry impression before getting into foul trouble late.
The loss is Dayton's first of the season, but the way in which it competed this week in Maui was validation that it is deserving of a top-25 ranking. It defeated Georgia and Virginia Tech in consecutive days to open the event before pushing a top-five Kansas team to the brink. Kansas, meanwhile, improves to 6-1 on the season and extends its winning streak to six. After opening its season with a 68-66 loss to Duke, it has rebounded well. The Jayhawks get a week off before a big home game against former Big 12 foe Colorado on Dec. 7.
As for the rest of the Maui bracket, Georgia defeated Chaminade in the final seconds of the seventh place game. And in the night cap between Virginia Tech and BYU, the Cougars outlasted the Hokies 90-77.
2019 Maui Invitational
Monday's games
All times Eastern
- Game 1: Dayton 80, Georgia 61 -- Recap
- Game 2: Virginia Tech 71, No. 3 Michigan State 66 -- Story | Analysis
- Game 3: No. 4 Kansas 93, Chaminade 63 -- Recap
- Game 4: BYU 78, UCLA 63 -- Recap
Tuesday's games
- Game 5: No. 3 Michigan State 93, Georgia 85 -- Box score
- Game 6: UCLA 74, Chaminade 48 -- Recap
- Game 7: Dayton 89, Virginia Tech 62 -- Recap
- Game 8: No. 4 Kansas 71, BYU 56 -- Box score
Wednesday's games
- Championship game: Kansas 90, Dayton 84 -- Box score
- 3rd place game: BYU 90, Virginia Tech 77 -- Recap
- 5th place game: No. 3 Michigan State 75, UCLA 62 -- Recap
- 7th place game: Georgia 80, Chaminade 77 -- Recap