Keshon Gilbert and No. 5 Iowa State will take the court against Nate Santos and Dayton on Tuesday night.
The No. 5 ranked team in the country, Iowa State and Dayton, will face off in the consolation semifinals of the Maui Invitational presented by Novavax on Tuesday night at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawai’i. The Cyclones came into this tournament with an undefeated 3-0 record this season. However, this was the first time they had met with a top-five opponent as they took on the No. 4-ranked Auburn in the first round of the tournament. It was a game that all fans enjoyed. Iowa State broke out to a lead, going into the halftime break with a 16-point lead.
However, they let Auburn battle back in the second half, going all the way down to the wire. Keshon Gilbert made a pair of clutch free throws to take the lead, 81-79. However, after an Auburn layup and a turnover, it allowed Auburn to get a game-winning shot. Gilbert led the team in the loss with 23 points. Curtis Jones came off the bench and had 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
The Flyers came into this tournament without a loss to its name. At 5-0, it gave North Carolina everything it could handle in the first half of their first-round matchup. They took on the No. 12 ranked team in the nation and acted like they belong bouncing out to an 18-point lead by the end of the first half.
However, it did not end that way. Dayton let North Carolina battle back in the second half and eventually lost the half by 20 points and the game by two points. Nate Santos led the team with 15 points and made what was thought to be the game-tying three-point shot, but his foot was on the line. Freshman Amael L’Etang had 13 points off the bench.
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