DAYTON, Ohio – Just one more shot to fall, just one more defensive stop to make for the visiting Indiana State Sycamores as they came within an eyelash of stunning a sell crowd during the grand reopening of the UD Arena on Saturday night. ISU fell 86-81 with two good looks from 3-point range on their final offensive possession of the game.
 
The Sycamores begin the season with an 0-1 record while Dayton begins 1-0. It was Indiana State's first trip to the state of Ohio since the 2011 NCAA Tournament contest against Syracuse in Cleveland.
 
Tyreke Key led the way with 21 points as he went 12-of-14 from the free throw line – the first Sycamores to record double digit free throws made since he did it in a road win at Valparaiso last year. Barnes finished the game with 19 points as he hit a trio of 3-pointers to give him 218 career makes from long range which is third in history of the program. He also added nine rebounds. Christian Williams tallied 14 points and eight boards.
 
Indiana State held a 39-34 edge on the glass, including an 11-9 cushion in second chance points. ISU hit 47.4 percent of their shots in the game (27-of-57) and were 21-of-27 from the charity stripe.
 
Key hit a huge shot with 23.1 seconds remaining, a 3-pointer from the left wing which rattled home to get the Sycamores within 81-79. It gave him 21 points for the contest. After Dayton hit 1-of-2 from the line, Barnes drove the lane line and scored with 13.9 seconds left and Indiana State was down just 82-81. After a foul, Dayton hit both free throws this time to regain an 84-81 lead with 13.9 seconds to go.
 
Barnes had two great looks at a 3-pointer, including one after he grabbed his own offensive rebound but neither would fall. Dayton tacked on a pair of free throws to produce the final margin of five points.
 
Trailing by six points, Bronson Kessinger kept the Sycamores in the contest with a driving lay-up at the 3:03 mark to trim the Dayton lead down to 75-71. Key answered with Dayton basket with turnaround of his own with just over two minutes to go to once again make it a four-point game. Barnes would connect on a step-back 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining to trim the Dayton advantage down to just 79-76.
 
Dayton owned a 38-33 lead at the break, but Tre Williams scored on the first trip down the floor to cut the Flyer lead down to just three points. After the Flyers answered with a bucket, Williams scored again inside cut the Dayton lead down to just 41-37. The Flyers would go on a 12-0 run which included a nearly three minute dry spell as they raced ahead 49-37 and forced the Sycamores to call a timeout.
 
Key ended the drought with a turnaround jumper in the paint with just over 15 minutes remaining to draw within 10 points. Then following a Neese steal, Key beat the shot clock on the next possession to trim the Flyer advantage down to 49-41.
 
A pair of Tyreke Key free throws with 10:40 on the clock trimmed the Dayton cushion down to 55-50 and pushed him up to 13 points in the contest. After the Flyers regained a nine-point lead, Christian Williams converted a driving lay-up at the 9:33 mark plus the layup for the conventional 3-point play to cut the deficit down to 59-53. Barnes then reached double figures as the clock ticked under the nine minute mark with a left wing trifecta to get the Sycamores within three points at 59-56. Dayton parlayed an offensive rebound into points with a long jumper just before the death of the shot clock to reclaim a five point lead.
 
A turnover created a fast break for the Flyers, but Tre Williams answered with a hook shot at the 7:26 mark to once again make it a five-point game. Christian Williams hit a big 3-pointer from the top of the key as the clock neared the five minute mark, but the Flyer answered. He then converted a driving lay-up to make it 70-66. Barnes would hit another big three as the clock passed the four minute mark to make it a one-possession game but the Flyers punched back with a trifecta of their own.
 
Indiana State raced out to an 8-4 lead over the Flyers, including the first six points of the season scored by senior Christian Williams. A mid-range jumper from sophomore Cooper Neese gave the Sycamores a four-point advantage with 16:10 on the clock. Dayton would score the next six to regain a slight advantage before freshman Jake LaRavia made a driving lay-up on the fast break with 14:05 on the clock to knot the contest at 10.
 
As the clock ticked towards the nine minute mark, the Flyers took a six-point lead before Neese connected on the Sycamores' first trifecta of the year with 8:27 remaining to cut the Flyer advantage down to just 24-21. After Dayton expanded their cushion out to eight points, Barnes and senior Bronson Kessinger tallied back-to-back buckets to make it 33-29 with 4:35 remaining. Tyreke Key would hit a pair of free throws on consecutive trips to get the Sycamores within 34-33 with a minute and a half to go, but the Flyers scored on their final two possessions, including a buzzer beater by Jalen Crutcher to give the Flyers a 38-33 cushion at the break.
 
Jordan Barnes led the way for the Sycamores with eight first half points while Christian Williams tallied six points and six rebounds over the opening 20 minutes. LaRavia was also solid with six points in the first stanza. The Sycamores connected on 10-of-24 shots for a 41.7 percent mark while Dayton hit on 16-of-31 for a 51.6 percent standard.
 
Dayton was led in the contest by Obi Toppin who finished the game with 29 points and 12 rebounds – connecting on 10-of-16 shots from the field.
 
Indiana State travels to nationally-ranked Louisville on Wednesday, November 13 for a matchup with the Cardinals. The game will tip off at 8:00 p.m. (ET) with national television coverage provided by the ACC Network.