DAYTON, Oh- Dayton went the final 6:37 without a field goal but held on to defeat Savannah State 61-59 at UD Arena before a crowd of 12.153.

With the score tied at 51, Paul Williams hit a jumper that gave the Flyers a two point lead. The rest of the way Dayton made 8 of 10 free throw attempts.

A pair of free throws by Josh Benson put SSU behind by five with 1:15 left but a layup by Josh Montgomery and two free throws from Preston Blackmon cut the Tigers deficit to 60-59 with nine seconds remaining.

Josh Parker made a free throw with five ticks left for a 61-59 edge.

Blackmon attempted a game-winning 3-pointer with one second left but missed and the Tigers dropped their fifth straight game and fell to 1-5.

Jovonni Shuler and Blackmon each scored 17 points for Savannah State. The duo also combined for nine assists.

SSU shot 52.6 percent from the floor in the first half and led 37-34 at halftime.

Dayton led 7-3 in the early going but a 10-1 run gave SSU a 13-8 lead with 13:57 on the clock.

The first half featured seven ties.

The last tie came with 1:20 left but that was broken after Josh Montgomery drilled a 3-pointer with three seconds on the clock that sent the Tigers into the locker room in the lead.

SSU led by five early in the second period but Dayton used a 12-0 run to go ahead 48-41 with 13:50 remaining.

Dayton improved to 4-0 and were led by Williams who had 15 points.