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Wisconsin basketball beats Dayton 43-42 in a defensive slugfest

The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team locks down the Dayton Flyers to win their first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

Matt Belz

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Coming into the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with a perfect record to begin the season, the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team faced off with the Dayton Flyers in a non-conference showcase on Wednesday afternoon. 

In a game highlighted by defense, the Badgers did just enough to exit with a 43-42 victory.  

Here is a breakdown of Wisconsin's one-point win against Dayton in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. 

Contents

  1. Game Recap
  2. Players of note
  3. Instant analysis
  4. Photos of the game
  5. Up next

Game Recap

In the early going, the Badgers would grab a lead behind a pair of quick turnovers by Dayton and an easy layup for Jordan Davis on a pretty back-door feed from center Steven Crowl. 

A three-minute scoring drought for Wisconsin shortly thereafter would allow the Flyers to tie the game up, as neither team was overly efficient on offense in the first four minutes of the game, shooting a combined 2-of-13. 

Coming out of the first media timeout, the two teams would begin to find something on offense, as the Flyers came out with five quick points, while Connor Essegian of Wisconsin hit a critical three-pointer to end an extended scoring slump. 

The two teams would exchange buckets next, with Essegian once again leading the way for the Badgers to make it 9-7 in favor of the Flyers with 11:28 remaining in the first half. 

Connor Essegian would continue to carry Wisconsin on offense after the brief media break. The freshman guard hit a stepback three and then connected on a trio of free throws after being fouled on an inbounds play to give the Badgers a 13-11 lead with 8:36 left on the clock.

Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit would get in on the action with a big three-pointer of his own to extend the lead to five points, as Dayton went 1-of-11 from the floor. 

Mustapha Amzil would end the scoreless streak for the Flyer with a three-pointer. However, easy points from Isaac Lindsey and Steven Crowl pushed Wisconsin's lead to six points with two minutes remaining in the first half. 

A late three-pointer by Lindsey off the bench would ultimately propel the Badgers into halftime on a 7-0 run and a 23-14 advantage.

Steven Crowl would open the second half with some points in the paint for Wisconsin. Following a pair of free throws by Dayton big man Toumani Camara, Chucky Hepburn would get to work with a floater inside the arc to help give the Badges a 27-20 lead at the first media timeout.

After a pair of free throws by DaRon Holmes, Wisconsin would get a tremendous effort play by Markus Ilver. The sophomore kept an offensive rebound alive on a tip-out and then followed that up by burying a three-pointer. 

Three-straight fouls on Dayton would lead to a technical on Flyer's head coach Anthony Grant, who was displeased with the way the game was being called. As a result, Connor Essegian would add two more points on the free throw line, and then Steven Crowl would get an offensive rebound and putback to help Wisconsin open up a 10-point advantage. 

The Flyers would respond by making their next three attempts to cut the deficit to just five points, as Tyler Wahl added his fourth foul on the offensive end. With all the momentum, Dayton guard Kobe Elvis would continue to the come back with a three-point make. 

Markus Ilver would hit a crucial shot from long-range to settle things down, but the Wisconsin lead was now down to three points, 37-34 with 8:45 remaining on the clock. 

With the Badgers making some questionable shot attempts and in the middle of a scoring drought, Kobe Elvis went to work for the Flyers with another jumper, to trim the Wisconsin lead to just one point with just over seven minutes remaining. 

The Badgers would turn to their starters, and get some timely offensive rebounds to help increase their lead to three with a pair of free throws by Steven Crowl. However, Mustapha Amzil would have an answer for Dayton to tie the game up with just under five minutes remaining. 

A Tyler Wahl and-one would push the Badgers back in front moments later, as Wisconsin took a 42-39 lead into the media timeout with 3:17 left. 

Dayton would make it a 43-41 game moments later, and ultimately managed to make it a one-point game on the free-throw line with 59 seconds remaining. 

Steven Crowl was blocked by Toumani Camara on the next possession out of the timeout, giving the Flyers the ball back with 24 seconds remaining. Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit would block a last-second shot attempt by Kobe Elvis to allow the Badgers to escape with the narrow 43-42 win. 

Players of note

  • Connor Essegian (Wisconsin)

Stats: 13 points (3-of-6 shooting) and two rebounds in 19 minutes

Connor Essegian began the game by scoring 11 of the team's first 13 points in the game. The freshman guard came up huge for the Badgers in the game and led the way with a team-high 13 for the game. 

In a game that was defined by the defensive end, Essegian was Wisconsin's best offensive playmaker. 

  • Steven Crowl (Wisconsin)

Stats: 9 points (3-of-11 shooting), seven rebounds, and four assists in 33 minutes

Steven Crowl didn't shoot all that well against Dayton, but he stuffed the stat sheet in many other ways. He finished the game second on the team with nine points, and also added seven rebounds and dished out four assists while playing stellar defense against the length of Dayton inside. 

  • Isaac Lindsey (Wisconsin)

Stats: 5 points (2-of-4 shooting), one rebound, and one assist in 9 minutes

With scoring hard to come by, the Badgers got some necessary production from Isaac Lindsey off the bench. The sophomore from Mineral Point scored five points in the final four minutes of the first half to help pick up the slack. 

Overall, Lindsey finished the game with a rebound and an assist as well, providing Greg Gard with some huge minutes when the team needed him. 

  • Kobe Elvis (Dayton)

Stats: 16 points (7-of-17 shooting) and eight rebounds in 38 minutes

Dayton could not get anything going in the first half, but Dayton guard Kobe Elvis played extremely well in the second. The 6-foot-2 sophomore led the Flyers with 16 points and also added eight rebounds. 

Instant analysis

Playing without Jahcobi Neath, Wisconsin once again relied on their defense against Dayton. The Badgers did a phenomenal job of forcing the Flyers to play a half-court game and clogging the lane. As a result, Dayton struggled mightily on offense as Wisconsin locked them down on the defensive end. 

While the Badgers were not much better on offense, Wisconsin got some help off the bench. Connor Essegian and Isaac Lindsey combined for 16 of Wisconsin's 23 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting, while the rest of the roster combined to shoot just 13% on 23 attempts. 

In the second half, Wisconsin uncharacteristically forced some jumpers early in the shot clock and allowed Dayton to get out in transition more. The Flyers did a better job of generating points as a result, while the Badgers continued to struggle on the offensive end.

Wisconsin did just enough down the stretch on the defensive end to maintain their lead through the final whistle, as the team finished 1-of-17 to end the game, but locked down on defense to secure the victory.     

Through the first four games, Greg Gard's squad has proven to be great defensively, and this was by far their most impressive effort, shutting down a talented Dayton team that is the favorite to win the Atlantic 10 this season. Shot selection was once again an issue for the Badgers, but this team found a way to win and shot well from the free throw line, going 9-of-10 to close out the game from the charity stripe. 

Photos of the game

Steven Crowl / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin center Steven Crowl backing his man down against Dayton in the Battle 4 Atlantis. 

Max Klesmit / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit hustling for a loose ball against Dayton in the Battle 4 Atlantis. 

Chucky Hepburn / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn poking the ball loose on defense against Dayton in the Battle 4 Atlantis. 

Tyler Wahl / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl forcing his man out of bounds on defense against Dayton in the Battle 4 Atlantis

Max Klesmit / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit celebrates after blocking a shot to clinch a victory against Dayton. 

Celebration / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin players celebrate after beating the Dayton Flyers in the Battle 4 Atlantis. 

Tyler Wahl / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl making a move in the paint against Dayton. 

Up next

With a win to open the tournament, the Badgers will next match up with the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday. The game will take place at 10 a.m. CST, and be aired on ESPN. As a reminder, Wisconsin will also play on Friday as part of the tournament, though the exact matchup will be determined by how things shake out over the next day or so in the Bahamas. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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