TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo's historic season came to a disappointing end on Wednesday night as Dayton (24-10) registered a 74-55 victory over the Rockets in a first-round matchup of the 2022 National Invitation Tournament in Savage Arena. Toledo finished the season with a 26-8 overall record, one shy of its school record, and was the first team in program history to capture back-to-back outright Mid-American Conference titles.
 
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said the Flyers' size proved to be too much for his squad to overcome.

"Dayton's length bothered us a great deal on the offensive end," Kowalczyk said. "I wasn't disappointed with how we moved the ball or our shot selection. To beat a team like Dayton, you need to make some shots and we didn't do that tonight. They are a very good team and showed why they nearly made it into the NCAA Tournament. I'm very proud of our players and everybody in our program. We have a lot of bright days ahead with all five of our starters returning."
 
Junior Setric Millner Jr. led the way for Toledo, scoring 18 points and tying for the team lead with seven rebounds. Millner was joined in double figures by sophomore Ryan Rolllins (14 pts.) and junior RayJ Dennis (13 pts.).
 
"This team is probably the closest I've been with during my career," Millner said. "We didn't accomplish all our goals this season, but winning 26 games is something to hang our hat on. This season was huge for our future, and we just have to keep working to get better."
 
Freshman DaRon Holmes II paced the Flyers with 20 points, shooting 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the field.
 
Dayton shot 52.7 percent from the field, including a red-hot 64.3 mark in the second half. The Flyers limited the Rockets to a 34.8 shooting mark.
 
The Flyers also controlled the glass by out-rebounding Toledo by a 42-34 margin.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

• Setric MIllner Jr. tallied six points as part of an 8-3 spurt that gave Toledo an 8-7 lead less than six minutes into the game.
• The Flyers answered with a 12-2 run to take a 19-10 lead with 9:13 to play in the half.
• Ryan Rollins' three-point play reduced Dayton's margin to 21-15 six minutes before halftime.
• Dayton went on a 9-2 run down the stretch to extend its cushion to 34-20, the Flyers' largest of the half.
• Ra'Heim Moss hit a triple at the buzzer to cut reduce the Rockets' deficit to 34-23 at the half.

SECOND HALF

• Dayton opened the second half hot, exploding for an 11-2 run to seize a 45-27 lead with 15:55 left.
• Millner scored five points in a 7-3 burst that cut the Flyers' advantage to 56-43 with 10:19 to play.
• Toledo was never able to come any closer though for the remainder of the contest.