Like the rest of his UConn basketball teammates, senior Ryan Boatright was convinced the Huskies had turned the corner prior Thursday's dismal defeat.

It sure seemed that way after the Huskies rolled to three straight wins, including shocking nationally-ranked Southern Methodist on Sunday.

That made what transpired against Memphis even more troubling.

"We definitely did (turn the corner)," said a frustrated Boatright on Thursday night. "It's surprising and it's disappointing. But it's my job to keep everybody together and keep them encouraged."

Less than 48 hours after the damaging 54-53 loss, UConn will be back on the court, visiting Temple (21-9, 12-5) today for its American Athletic Conference regular-season finale at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia (2 p.m., ESPN2). The Owls have won nine of their last 11.

"We've definitely got to bounce back quickly for Saturday," freshman Daniel Hamilton said. "There's no time to have our heads down now."

Heading into the season as the preseason favorite to win the AAC, the Huskies never expected to be fighting for a bye in the conference tournament. The top five finishers will earn a pass into the quarterfinals. They are locked in a fifth-place tie with Memphis, which owns any tiebreaker by virtue of the season series sweep. Only a win and a Memphis loss Sunday at Cincinnati would enable UConn to avoid playing in the first round next Thursday.

"We know what we've got to do," Boatright said. "We're just using every game as a stepping stone and try to get better and learn from everything. We lost this game. We've got another opportunity to win a game Saturday. The season comes down to the tournament."

One of the biggest factors in the Huskies falling well short of contender status is their inability to win close games. They're 1-6 in games decided by four points or less.

UConn's loss to Memphis was similar to those other heartbreakers. The Huskies failed to execute on the offensive and defensive end in the crucial final minutes. They took ill-advised shots and played selfish basketball, according to coach Kevin Ollie, leading to the team sinking a season-low 27.8 percent. Boatright, Hamilton and Purvis shot a combined 9-for-36 from the field.

Just like in last-second losses to Texas and Yale, Memphis delivered the game-winning dagger. Shaq Goodwin's shot bounced several times on the rim before falling in with eight seconds left. Then Boatright's contested buzzer-beating attempt was well off the mark.

"We've got to play better," Ollie said. "We've got to play smarter. At the end of the day, you've got to get a stop. One down or two down, you've got to buckle in and be mentally tough and do whatever it takes to be committed to a get a stop. We've just haven't been able to do that in a couple of these games."

The Huskies suffered a similar fate in their previous meeting against Temple, dropping a 57-53 overtime decision on Dec. 31 in Hartford.

Poor offensive execution and shaky free throw shooting (8-for-19) prevented them from a completing a comeback. Trailing by two with 2.8 seconds left in overtime, Hamilton had a chance to either tie or win the game but missed three foul shots. They also played all but one possession in the second half without Boatright, who left the game a deep left thigh bruise. He scored a season-low two points.

"We have to be focused and ready to come out and play from the beginning on Saturday," Boatright said.

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe