With 13 seconds left Jaykwon Walton made two free throws to put the Memphis Tigers up 76-79 effectively sealing the deal for the Tigers. The 13th ranked Clemson Tigers traveled to FedEx Forum with a 9-0 record, and left 9-1. On the other hand, Memphis came in 7-2 and improved to 8-2.
Another close win for the Memphis Tigers. This was a game of runs. Both teams had streaky success, especially in the first half for Memphis. Clemson came into the game ready to set the tempo and play their game. They jumped to a 11-4 lead with 16:33 on the clock.
The following 3 minutes was catch-up. After a smooth shot from Jayden Hardaway the Tigers took their first lead of the game, 15-13. Clemson outscored Memphis in the remaining 10 minutes of the half to extend their lead to 39-32. Despite a shaky first half, Memphis was able to keep it within a single digit deficit.
The Tigers shot 2-16, 12.5%, from the perimeter. At one point they had missed 10 straight threes. David Jones was having a relatively quiet performance, only scoring 6 points off 7 shots. The top performer of the half was guard Jahvon Quinerly, JQ had 7 points and 2 assists.
In the post-game presser, Coach Hardaway said that he noticed the Clemson bigs looking exhausted and wanted to take advantage of that. Memphis, who had been playing into Clemsons game so far, decided to up the tempo and push the floor. The change punished Clemson and gave Memphis opportunities to capitalize.
The change was evident in the opening minutes of the second half. The Tigers jumped out to a 6-0 run to make the score 40-39 Memphis. Another result of the fast-paced play was the change of man-to-man for Clemson to a zone. In the first half Memphis could not make the open shots they were getting because of the zone. While that remained true, the Tigers still took advantage of the fatigue of Clemson and found lanes.
Despite the run Clemson would not go away. Neither team held a lead larger than 5 in the second half. Just when Memphis needed it most, Jones came alive. He scored 16 points in the second half, and made huge momentum changing shots. Including the three at 12:20 to tie the game at 52. It felt like the roof was going to come off the building at that moment. The atmosphere in the forum was electric.
With the game even at 66 with 6:15 to play, it was clear both squads were waiting for a game altering play. It wasn't until the 3:31 mark where that play was made. Memphis held a 2 point lead and after a tipped pass, Malcolm Dandridge chased the ball down and tip-toed along the Memphis bench and slammed the ball with authority to put Memphis up 72-68.In a great display of effort and discipline, Memphis made the extra play to put them over the edge.
With a score of 72-75, Memphis forced a shot clock violation that once again put the Tigers in the drivers seat for the remaining 40 seconds of the game. Following the turnover, Jones made 2 free throws to extend the advantage to 77-72 with 39 seconds to play. The remaining time was messy from Memphis. Outside of Waltons free shots, Memphis missed their other 4 attempts. They allowed Clemson a chance to tie with 6 seconds left and one second left. Thwarting both attempts with solid defense and rebounding, Memphis escaped with a win.
The MVP of the game was Jahvon Quinerly. He was the quarterback of the team today, along with all season. Quinerly finished with 17 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. He had so many plays that won't show up on the stat sheet, but impacted the game. Jones finished with 22 points and 6 rebounds, while shooting 6-14 and 1-5 from beyond the arc. As a unit Memphis struggled from three. They finished 43.3% from the field and 4-26 from the three-point line. They only turned the ball over 6 times and forced 15 turnovers, that was vital in the win.
The Tigers will take on the Virginia Cavaliers on Tuesday the 19th at 6p.m. at FedEx Forum. UVA is ranked #22 and is 9-1 at the top of the ACC. As Memphis looks to win their 4th straight they will have to go through another formidable ACC opponent.
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