Williams, Johnson lead No. 18 Dayton to 63-59 victory over No. 21 Georgia Tech

No. 18 Dayton tops No. 21 Georgia Tech 63-59

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Sophomore guard Paul Williams scored seven of his 13 points in the final minute, including a go-ahead 3-pointer, in No. 18 Dayton’s 63-59 win over No. 21 Georgia Tech in the opening game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday.

Chris Johnson scored 19 points for Dayton (2-0), going 4 for 8 from behind the 3-point line, and Luke Fabrizius added 12 points.

The Yellow Jackets (1-1) trailed the Flyers 31-22 at the half, but rallied with a string of dunks and layups by Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal.

A 3-pointer by Brian Oliver gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the second half at 49-47 and a layup by Zachery Peacock on an offensive rebound with 4:37 to play gave them a 57-50 lead.

The energetic Flyers came back on Johnson’s outside shooting, and Williams, a reserve, sealed the victory with his key 3 and by going 4 for 4 from the free throw line down the stretch. Dayton got 47 points from its backups.

Favors and Maurice Miller led Georgia Tech with 10 points apiece. Lawal had eight rebounds in helping the Yellow Jackets outrebound Dayton 34-26.

In the first half, Dayton took control with an 8-0 run capped by Chris Wright’s breakaway dunk that gave the Flyers a 30-20 lead three minutes before the break. Fabrizius hit two 3-pointers during the run.

The Flyers had 22 turnovers, but also scored 27 points off 26 Georgia Tech turnovers.