Staff and wire reports
CANCUN, Mexico - There was no consolation for UNM, even in a consolation game.
After losing to Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, the Lobos dropped a 68-62 decision to Drake in the consolation round of the Cancun Challenge on Sunday, leaving them 3-4 on the season.
Senior Daniel Faris led the Lobos with 14 points. Chad Toppert supplemented UNM with 12, while Roman Martinez chipped in 11 points.
But it wasn't enough.
With the game tied at 31 apiece at halftime, Drake pulled away, using a 14-4 run to build a lead. By the 5:45 mark, the Bulldogs held a 16-point margin.
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UNM battled back to within four, as Toppert drained a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left. Still, Drake knocked down its free throws in crunch time to preserve a 68-62 victory, improving to 3-2 on the season.
As in past games, UNM was unsightly from the charity stripe, making only nine of its 20 attempts.
On Saturday, Eric Maynor scored 18 points to lead Virginia Commonwealth to a 67-55 victory over UNM.
The Rams (3-2) also received 12 points from Joey Rodriguez, who shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Virginia Commonwealth shot 43.8 percent from the field (21-for-48) and connected on 52.6 percent of its shots from 3-point range (10-for-19).
UNM shot 39.6 percent from the field (21-for-53) and shot 58.3 percent from the free-throw line (7-for-12).
"It was a game of runs, and we didn't have very many of them," head coach Steve Alford told GoLobos.com.
VCU blew the game open with a 26-6 run, then increased its lead to 63-49 in the second half.
Tony Danridge, Martinez and Toppert combined for 14 points on 4-for-20 shooting.
"Right now, pressure bothers us," Alford said. "Just look at our stats. Our two leading scorers are
freshmen. We're not going to win a lot of games if our freshmen are going to end up leading us in scoring. They're not ready for it, and I can't ask that out of them."
Freshman Phillip McDonald led the Lobos with 14 points, while Nate Garth added 12 points. Faris was the only other Lobo in double figures with 11 points.
Men's basketball vs. Southern Mississippi
Saturday, 4 p.m.
The Pit
