The University of Connecticut's men's basketball team, ranked No. 2, finished its participation in the 2024 Maui Invitational with a defeat against Dayton, ending the game with a score of 85-67.

Enoch Cheeks contributed 20 points, guiding Dayton to an 85-67 victory over No. 2 UConn in the seventh-place matchup of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday evening. The Flyers (6-2) received additional support from Nate Santos, who scored 18 points, Posh Alexander with 16 points, and Zed Key, who added 15 points and led the team with nine rebounds. Cheeks demonstrated efficiency, shooting 8 of 12 from the field, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. For the Huskies (4-3), Alex Karaban was the standout, making four of his team's eight three-pointers and scoring 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half. UConn struggled throughout the tournament, suffering losses in all three of their games. Liam McNeeley, who had a career-high 20 points against Colorado the previous day, was unable to score against the Flyers, finishing with 0 points on 0-for-9 shooting. Karaban briefly put UConn ahead 30-27 with a three-pointer at the 4:34 mark of the first half, but Dayton responded with a 15-4 run to secure a 41-34 lead at halftime.

Key observations for UConn include that all three of their losses in Maui were to unranked teams, having narrowly lost their first two games against Memphis and Colorado by a total of three points. For Dayton, the Flyers excelled at the free-throw line, converting 27 of 30 attempts, and shot over 47% from three-point range (8 of 17), finishing with a total of 25 of 50 from the field. A pivotal moment occurred when UConn narrowed the gap to 52-49 with a transition basket from Solo Ball at the 11:20 mark of the second half; however, Dayton regained momentum with Alexander’s three-point play, extending their lead back to six points with 10:34 remaining. Notably, Dayton achieved a significant rebounding advantage, finishing with a plus-16 margin, including a dominant 32-17 edge on the defensive boards. Looking ahead, UConn will host Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday, while Dayton will welcome Western Michigan on Tuesday night.