Dayton 66, Providence 53: Dyshawn Pierre scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and collected nine rebounds as the Flyers upended the Friars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.

Jordan Sibert chipped in 15 points for No. 11 seed Dayton (27-8), which played in its fifth game in nine days. The Flyers, who also received nine rebounds and five steals from Kyle Davis as well as 11 points from Scoochie Smith, will attempt to reach the Sweet 16 in back-to-back years for the first time since 1965-67 on Sunday when they face No. 3 seed Oklahoma in the third round.

Big East scoring champion LaDontae Henton finished 7-of-26 from the field – including 4-of-14 beyond the arc – to finish with 18 points and 11 rebounds for sixth-seeded Providence (22-12), which is winless in four tournament appearances since an Elite Eight run in 1997. Jalen Lindsey hit four 3-pointers en route to 12 points while Kris Dunn had 11 points and seven of the Friars’ 16 turnovers.

Providence lost Dunn to foul trouble early in the first half and scored only five points over the first 11½ minutes, but the Big East co-conference Player of the Year returned midway through to help the Friars settle for a 28-25 deficit at intermission. Lindsey twice knotted it early in the second half on 3-pointers before Dayton countered with three triples during an 11-2 spurt to open up a 44-35 advantage with 10½ minutes remaining.

Henton scored five of the next six points as Providence rallied within three, but Sibert and Pierre buried 3-pointers to stretch the margin back to eight with 4½ minutes to go. Pierre added a three-point play with two minutes left to give the Flyers their biggest lead 56-42 and Dayton closed it out by hitting 10-of-11 free throws in the final 1:43.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Providence coach Ed Cooley was assessed a technical foul with 3:42 remaining when he pushed his chair in the direction of referee Terry Oglesby during a timeout, even though Cooley’s assistants were standing behind him. … Dayton improved to 19-0 in the state of Ohio two days after hosting its first-round victory over Boise State on Wednesday. … The Flyers finished 22-of-30 from the foul line while the Friars set season lows with three free throws and seven attempts.