After winning the MVP award at last month’s Old Spice Classic, University of Dayton point guard Kevin Dillard slumped like the rest of the team during consecutive losses to Buffalo and Murray State by a combined 46 points.

But the 6-foot junior was indispensable during a 72-64 upset of 16th-ranked Alabama on Wednesday night at UD Arena, tallying 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists. And while he was content to let his teammates do the bulk of the scoring for much of the night, Dillard took over at the most pivotal point in the game.

After the Crimson Tide shaved a 16-point deficit to four — helped by a pesky half-court zone — Dillard knocked down a deep 3-pointer with 7:02 to go as the shot clock was expiring, and he knocked down another from the corner on the next possession at 6:07. UD was ahead by 10 again and out of danger.

“We were very composed the whole game,” Dillard said afterward. “My teammates were doing a good job hitting them early, and I found an opportunity late to hit a shot and then another.

“It’s good. We’re going to celebrate it tonight, and the day after, we have to start getting ready for the next game. We can’t be too happy. We’ve got to get ready to play on Sunday (against South Carolina Upstate).”

The Flyers improved to 6-3 and are ranked 35th nationally in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). They’ll play five straight times at home — including against power-conference foes Seton Hall and Mississippi — before launching into Atlantic 10 action on Jan. 4 against highly regarded Saint Louis.

UD coach Archie Miller is feeling much better about that stretch after seeing his floor general shake his funk.

“Kevin Dillard is back,” Miller said. “He had his way with Alabama just like he did with Minnesota (in the Old Spice title game). When teams want to press, sometimes it’s a Catch-22 with him. He makes you pay on the other end. Either he breaks the press and makes the pass or he can make the shot himself.”

UD, which has won nine of its past 10 games against BCS foes, shot 61 percent from the field, topping the 60 percent plateau for the first time in five years.

“Kevin Dillard continues to make our team go,” center Matt Kavanaugh said. “He’s a very solid point guard — scoring the ball, passing the ball and defensively. He’s an all-around true point guard for us, and we feed off him.”