Lobo men’s basketball ended its play in the Wooden Legacy Tournament the same way it started, as 16 turnovers cost the team a shot for a fifth-place finish in the tourney.
The Lobos dropped to 4-2, finishing the weekend with a 57-64 loss to the Dayton Flyers (4-2).
Their performance was nothing like the one they turned in on Friday, when they broke a few Wooden Legacy records en route to a 105-89 victory over Cal State Northridge.
New Mexico and Dayton shot nearly identical percentages from the floor, and the Lobos used the 3-point shot to make up some distance, connecting on 7-of-14 attempts.
The team had a slow start, committing three early turnovers that led to an 8-0 deficit. UNM didn’t score its first point until Sam Logwood split a pair of free throws over four minutes into the game.
After trailing by as many as 13 points, New Mexico rebounded to draw within 31-25 at the half. Dayton held the advantage in part by converting nine Lobo turnovers into 15 points.
The Lobos had a better second half, slowly cutting down their deficit and eventually finding the lead, leading to a tenacious finish in the matchup’s waning minutes.
The Lobos, down 56-49 with 2:22 left in the game, turned to senior guard Elijah Brown. He squared up and knocked down a 3-pointer and attacked the basket on the next possession, hitting the shot and drawing a foul to complete a 3-point play.
Dayton’s Xeyruis Williams missed a 3-point jumper and New Mexico’s Dane Kuiper was there to get the rebound. Brown dished out an assist, finding forward Tim Williams underneath for a layup. The score gave the Lobos its first lead of the game at 57-56, with 1:08 remaining.
Unfortunately for the Lobos, some tough calls didn’t go their way down the stretch, and the turnovers resurfaced as the game finished the same way it started.
New Mexico’s Xavier Adams was called for a blocking foul on a Charles Cooke drive to the basket. Cooke hit both free throws to put Dayton up 58-57 with 45 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Brown got tripped at the top of the key, causing him to fall and lose control of the ball. No foul was called and Dayton’s Kyle Davis collected the steal and cruised in for an easy layup.
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After a New Mexico timeout, Adams appeared to draw contact on a shot attempt, but didn’t get the benefit of the whistle again and the ball went out of bounds off Adams.
The Lobos were forced to foul and Dayton stepped up to hit both free throws to go up 62-57 with just 17 seconds left, essentially icing the game.
Kuiper committed the Lobos’ third turnover in the final 35 seconds which led to a dunk and the final score of 64-57.
Brown and Williams led New Mexico with 16 points each. Williams continued his run of scoring in double figures on 7-of-13 shooting. Brown was just 4-of-14, but hit three 3-pointers.
Dayton had three players with 12 points — Cooke, Davis and Scoochie Smith. Like Williams, Cooke and Smith have scored double figures in every game for the Flyers.
The Lobos will be looking to redeem themselves on Wednesday night when they return to Albuquerque to host Abilene Christian.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
