Bulldogs thumped by Dayton in Maui Invitational

Obi Toppin of the Dayton Flyers drives to the basket against the Georgia defense during the first half of their first game in the Maui Invitational Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Obi Toppin of the Dayton Flyers drives to the basket against the Georgia defense during the first half of their first game in the Maui Invitational Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Obi Toppin scored 25 points, Jalen Crutcher added 20 and Dayton opened the Maui Invitational with an 80-61 rout over Georgia on Monday.

Dayton (4-0) opened a 16-4 lead and never looked back against the Bulldogs (4-1), who suffered their first loss of the season. Tye Fagan scored a career-high 11 points to lead Georgia while freshman guard Anthony Edwards, averaging 19.3 points in the team’s first four games, finished with 6 points on 2-of-10 shooting and committed 3 turnovers.

Georgia struggled with turnovers early in its first trip to Maui, digging a deep hole it never had a chance of recovering from. The Bulldogs had 23 turnovers that led to 22 Dayton points and shot 4 of 16 from the 3-point arc.

Georgia opened its second season under Tom Crean with three blowout wins before holding off Georgia Tech last week. Dayton got the season off to a flying start, winning its first three games by an average of 19.7 points per game.

Once in Maui, the Flyers jumped on Georgia through Toppin, making seven of their first eight shots during an opening 16-4 run. A 6-foot-9 sophomore, Toppin used his length to go around and over the Bulldogs, scoring 14 points in the first five minutes.

Georgia began collapsing around Toppin and that opened the floor for the rest of the Flyers, who led 43-25 at halftime. The Bulldogs also struggled offensively, turning it over 15 times and missing all seven of their first-half 3-point attempts.

Georgia will play at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday against No. 3 Michigan State, which was upset by Virginia Tech 71-66 Monday.