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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit is known as one of the loudest environments in college basketball, and a crowd of 10,693 did everything it could to make things as difficult as possible for UC Davis throughout Sunday's game in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
 
It was the Aggies' defense, and its success from behind the three-point arc, that led to 12 tied scores and eight lead changes throughout the afternoon. Not only did the Aggies force 20 turnovers, the most committed by an opponent this season, a season-high 11 of their 24 baskets were earned from three.
 
Trailing by three, with 51 seconds remaining, Elijah Pepper's layup pulled UC Davis within one at 70-69, with 20 ticks still on the clock. Forced to foul, the Aggies saw New Mexico hit 1 of 2 shots at the stripe on consecutive possessions, which extended its lead to three.
 
With an opportunity to tie the game with a three, and enough time remaining to create a quality opportunity (17 seconds), UC Davis was unable to pull even for the 13th time in the game, and rather than waste the final four seconds, the Lobos raced down the court and scored their final points on a dunk at the buzzer to defeat the Aggies, 74-69.
 
"Our effort was outstanding tonight," said associate head coach Kevin Nosek following the game. "Everyone played with a lot of heart, intensity and hustle. We could not be more proud of these guys. Not only did our toughness lead to 21 turnovers [for New Mexico], it was a huge reason why we finished with 14 offensive rebounds."
  
"The guys are doing a great job working hard and improving as this non-conference schedule continues. Our ball movement is better, our shooting percentages are going up and that is exactly what [the coaching staff] wants to see. We are battling teams and this experience will pay off once we open our league schedule."
 
UC Davis will return home for its final Big West Conference tune-up when it hosts Holy Names on Jan. 3. Admission is free for Friday's game; tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. The Aggies will return to Hamilton Court with a 5-10 overall record. With Sunday's result, New Mexico improves to 13-2 and posted a perfect month of December for the first time since 2011-12.
 
Down by as many as eight early in the second half, the Aggies scored 10 unanswered points to turn a 43-35 deficit into a 47-45 lead.
 
What started with a Kennedy Koehler layup continued with a three from Pepper, a steal combined with an end-to-end fastbreak layup from Joe Mooney, a three from Stefan Gonzalez — one of a team-high four hit throughout the game — and a layup from Neufeld to give UC Davis a two-point edge.
 
After Hendrix ended the Aggies' scoring run with a free throw, Gonzalez responded again with another dagger from three, which gave them the lead at 50-47 with 13:04 left to play.

For the rest of the game, UC Davis never trailed by more than four (until the Lobos' dunk before the buzzer) and saw the lead change hands on numerous occasions.
 
Led by Gonzalez' 14 points, which included four threes and a pair of free throws, four Aggies scored double figures. Completing this list were Mooney and his 13 points, Squire and Matt Neufeld finished with 12 and 10 points apiece.
 
Squire set a new career high by finishing with seven rebounds; both he and Neufeld led all Aggies with matching totals. By leading his team with six assists, Pepper also set a new career high.
 
Not only did the Aggies compete from start-to-finish against one of the country's hottest teams — New Mexico entered Sunday's game riding a seven-game win streak — they did so in one of the sport's most hostile environments.
 
"This is a fantastic college environment, this place gets loud quick," said Nosek, regarding Dreamstyle Arena — The Pit. "When it gets going, like it did at the end, it becomes extremely loud. This experience was just like the one in Irvine a couple years ago."
 
During the 2017-18 season, UC Davis traveled to UC Irvine for each team's regular season finale. With a conference title, an automatic berth at a postseason tournament and the Big West Tournament's No. 1 seed on the line, the Aggies prevailed in double overtime.
 
"That night, the guys remained headstrong, would not let the crowd affect the way they played and ended up winning that game.
 
Added Nosek, "We were close to enjoying a victory of our own tonight. We need to put ourselves in an environment like this to prepare ourselves for Big West play, that is why our non-conference schedule is tough. Now we are trending forward and we are excited to continue improving each week."

 
TOGETHER, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING
Directly impact the lives of potential, and current UC Davis basketball student-athletes, by joining the Aggie Round Table.
 
With support from this select group of insiders, the men's basketball program can expand its recruiting efforts to find prospects who will thrive at the fifth-ranked public school in the nation, compete at a championship level and represent the University in a first-class manner as one of its ambassadors. 
 
Contact Liz Martin (Assistant Athletics Director, Leadership Giving & Alumni Engagement) at (530) 574-8623 or emartin@ucdavis.edu to find out how you can join this exclusive club!
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley.
 
The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.