LAHAINA, Hawaii — Keshon Gilbert led the No. 5 Iowa State Cyclones to an 89-84 victory over the Dayton Flyers in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday, scoring 24 points. Curtis Jones also made a significant contribution with 19 points, as Iowa State improved their record to 4-1. The Cyclones managed to rally back from a nine-point deficit late in the first half, demonstrating resilience in a contest characterized by 11 ties and 10 lead changes.

Gilbert’s performance from the free-throw line was exceptional, converting 12 of his 14 attempts. With only 44.9 seconds remaining, he sank two free throws that secured the lead for Iowa State. Dishon Jackson and Milan Momcilovic also made valuable contributions, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively.

On the other side, Malachi Smith stood out for Dayton, setting a career-high with 22 points during the game. Despite being known for their defensive prowess, with Iowa State leading the nation in scoring defense, the Flyers managed to shoot an impressive 58% from the field (29 of 50) and had four players reach double figures in scoring.

A pivotal moment occurred when Gilbert retrieved an offensive rebound and was fouled by Dayton’s Zed Key while attempting a putback with less than a minute left. After the officials reviewed the play, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant-1. Gilbert capitalized on the opportunity by making both free throws and then extending the lead to four with a layup, placing Iowa State ahead 85-81 with just 26.8 seconds on the clock.

Another noteworthy statistic from the game was that Iowa State successfully converted 25 out of 29 free throws. They shot 60% from the field in the second half, compared to a first-half score of 41-37 in favor of Dayton.

Looking ahead, Iowa State is set to compete against Colorado for fifth place on Wednesday, while Dayton will face off against No. 2 UConn for seventh place.