LAHAINA, Hawaii — Devon Dotson seemed to be running on fumes as the game wore on, but he still made big shots and continually found ways to get to the rim.
Big man Udoka Azubuike bulled his way through Dayton’s defense all day, particularly in overtime, and even hit his free throws.
The duo is one of the best Bill Self has had in 16 seasons at Kansas.
They’re certainly a big reason the Jayhawks won their third Maui Invitational title and will be among the favorites to cut down the nets in April.
Dotson scored 31 points, Azubuike had seven of his 29 in overtime and No. 4 Kansas outlasted Dayton 90-84 in the Maui Invitational championship game on Wednesday.
“When he has it going and the attention is on him, that opens up for other players,” Dotson said. “So it’s just kind of a 1-2 punch. We read the defense, take what’s given to us.”
The Flyers and Jayhawks spent much of the afternoon trading leads and highlight-reel plays in a bleacher-shaking atmosphere inside the bandbox Lahaina Civic Center.
Kansas (6-1) looked as if it would run away with a late 11-0 run in regulation.
The Flyers refused to back down, tying it when Jalen Crutcher buried a 3-pointer from about 5 feet behind the new, deeper arc with 2.1 seconds left.
“When he had the ball in his hands I went straight to the rim and I told him, ‘Just let it go,’” said Ryan Mikesell, who led Dayton with 19 points. “He’s a competent shooter and fortunate enough it went in.”
The Jayhawks absorbed the blow and delivered a few in overtime with their 7-foot, 270-pound center.
Kansas went to Azubuike early in the overtime and the big man delivered, scoring three baskets at the rim. A 32% free throw shooter entering the game, he also hit three from the line in overtime.
Marcus Garrett made three free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal Kansas’ second Maui title in four years.
“I do think we got some competitive pieces that, if we improve a little bit, this could be a pretty dangerous team down the stretch,” Self said.
Dayton made a name for itself by winning the first two Maui games, then went toe-to-toe with a blue-blood in the final.
The Flyers (5-1) came up short against Azubuike and the Jayhawks, but they figure to be a popular pick when the brackets come out in March.
Obi Toppin had 18 points and Dayton finished 16 for 33 from 3-point range to keep Kansas within reach.
“Obviously, it’s a tough loss, but like I told them in the locker room, whatever it was, five, six days ago when we came here we wanted to find out what we needed to do as a team to continue to move forward, I think these guys did a great job of answering that,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said. “They fought obviously to the very end.”
Toppin dominated the first two games, scoring 49 combined points while hitting 19 of 25 shots.
The Flyers took down Georgia of the SEC and Virginia Tech of the ACC in Maui.
The Jayhawks imposed their massive will on two undersized opponents to open the tournament, taking down Division II Chaminade and BYU.
As expected, Dayton and Kansas played a fast-paced, high-level game with the championship on the line, trading dunks, 3-pointers and buckets in transition.
With Kansas doubling Toppin in the post on every touch, the Flyers worked their kickout game, hitting their first five 3-pointers and eight in the first half to lead 37-36.
The Jayhawks had success getting the ball down low early for dunks and that opened things up for Dotson, who had 17 points by halftime.
The shots kept falling, the crowd kept roaring and the lead stayed tight to start the second half.
“That was a great basketball game,” Self said. “Two good teams competing against each other and in a terrific atmosphere.”
NO. 3 MICHIGAN STATE 75, UCLA 62
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Cassius Winston scored 20 points, Xavier Tillman had 14 and Michigan State beat UCLA in the Maui Invitational fifth-place game.
The Spartans (5-2) opened the tournament with a loss to Virginia Tech, but bounced back with consecutive solid performances.
Winston had a second straight strong performance after struggling in the opener and Michigan State used an 18-2 advantage in fast break points to close its Maui trip with a flourish.
Chris Smith had 13 points and Cody Riley scored 11 for UCLA (5-3).
NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 76, ALABAMA 67
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Garrison Brooks scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half and North Carolina overwhelmed Alabama on the glass in a Battle 4 Atlantis first-round game.
Freshman big man Armando Bacot had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Tar Heels (5-0), who entered the game as the nation’s No. 1 team in rebounding margin. The Tar Heels nearly doubled the Crimson Tide to finish with a 60-31 edge on the glass.
John Petty Jr. scored 23 points with seven 3-pointers for the Crimson Tide (2-3), though 15 points and five of those 3s came in the first half. Preseason all-Southeastern Conference pick Kira Lewis Jr. added 20 points.
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 46, MAINE 26
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Mamadi Diakite scored 15 points and Jay Huff had 13 as Virginia beat Maine.
The Cavaliers (7-0) played without starting guard Braxton Key, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, after the school said he had wrist surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely. They also were without Kody Stattmann, another starter, who missed his fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed illness.
Maine (2-4) kept it close for much of the game, more because Virginia had trouble scoring than anything else.
Vilgot Larsson led the Black Bears with nine points. They finished 8 for 43 from the field (18.6%) and had 21 turnovers that led to 20 Cavaliers points.
NO. 8 GONZAGA 94, SOUTHERN MISS 69
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Corey Kispert broke loose from a brutal three-game shooting funk to match his career high with 28 points and hit seven 3-pointers as Gonzaga beat Southern Miss in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Joel Ayayi added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs (7-0), who had no trouble against a team picked to finish last in Conference USA.
Killian Tillie, a preseason all-West Coast Conference pick, didn’t play.
LaDavius Draine shook free of his own outside shooting struggles for Southern Miss, scoring 19 points and making 5 of 9 3-pointers after connecting on 6 of 26 through the team’s first five games.
NO. 11 OREGON 71, NO. 13 SETON HALL 69
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Shakur Juiston scored on a putback with 14.4 seconds left and Oregon rallied from 19 points down in the second half to beat Seton Hall 71-69 in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The Ducks (6-0) trailed 49-30 early in the second half but hung around despite a brilliant performance from Seton Hall’s Myles Powell, who had 32 points for the No. 2 scoring total in the nine-year history of the event.
Payton Pritchard led the Ducks with 16 points. With Oregon having a chance to go ahead, Pritchard airballed a 3-pointer — only to have the ball end up with Juiston underneath for the putback and Oregon’s first lead of the second half.
Seton Hall (4-2) had a final chance after C.J. Walker missed free throws with 5.3 seconds left, but Powell’s long running heave hit only the backboard to end it.
