North Carolina's bid to be the first team to win the NCAA Championship and NIT Championship in consecutive seasons was foiled on Thursday night.
Dayton (25-12) rode the play of injured forward Chris Johnson (14 points and seven rebounds) and guard Marcus Johnson (20 points) and topped UNC 79-68 in the NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden.
The Flyers led by 13 at halftime and fought off a handful of UNC rallies to never give up the lead.
Will Graves tallied seven threes and had a career-high 25 points for UNC, but the Tar Heels couldn't keep pace with the hot-shooting Flyers. Dayton was 11-for-30 as a team from three-point land.
North Carolina ends its season at 20-17.
For the full game story from New York, visit dailytarheel.com later tonight.
