DENTON, Texas — Landers Nolley II had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, Lester Quinones added 15 points, all in the second half, and 10 rebounds and Memphis beat Dayton 71-60 on Saturday in the first round of the NIT Tournament.
Memphis (17-8) advances to face Boise State in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Boogie Ellis gave Memphis the lead for good with 6:31 remaining on a 3-pointer and Quinones added a 3 on their next possession to highlight a game-ending 15-2 run. The Tigers were 7 of 11 from distance in the second half, and Dayton missed seven of its final eight field goals.
DeAndre Williams scored 12 points and D.J. Jeffries had 10 for Memphis. The Tigers outrebounded Dayton 44-26 with a 17-2 advantage on the offensive glass.
Memphis did not make a field goal in the final two minutes of the first half and trailed 28-27. Nolley scored 12 points in the half, but the rest of his teammates combined to shoot 6 of 22 (22%).
Elijah Weaver led Dayton (14-10) with 16 points and Ibi Watson added 13. Mustapha Amzil had 11 points and eight rebounds and Jalen Crutcher, who entered averaging 18.1 points, was held to six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
After Dayton scored the first six points of the second half, Memphis answered with a 16-3 run.
For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
