The No. 18 Memphis Tigers defeated the 13-15 Rice Owls at the FedExForum. The Tigers have now won back-to-back games and sit at 23-5, atop the American Athletic Conference.
Despite not trailing for the entire game, Memphis only lead two with 4:28 to go. Even though Rice has only won two of their last 15 games, Coach Penny Hardaway was expecting the Owls to compete, citing their length as the their biggest advantage. Ultimately, he was just thankful to escape with a win.
Just five minutes into the game, Memphis led 13-3, seven coming from Dain Dainja. After a 6-0 run that lasted under a minute, Rice trailed 21-23 with eight minutes to go until halftime.
Once again, Damarien Yates made the most of his first half-minutes and scored six points. Yates knocked down a jumper at 2:46 to push the Tiger's lead to nine. Going into the locker rooms, Memphis led 39-32.
Tyrese Hunter sunk his first and only triple of the game right out of halftime to give the Tigers a 10-point lead. Hunter and Nicholas Jourdain were the only Tigers to make a shot from beyond the arc.
After Jourdain converted on a jump shot, Rice outscored Memphis 9-2 in the following three minutes, with all the points coming from the paint and the free throw line. This tied the game at 46 with 14:34 remaining.
Dain Dianja and Pj Haggerty answered with six straight points. The Illinois transfer scored 18 in the second half and gave Memphis a five-point lead with 8:04 left to play.
In the following possession, PJ Haggerty converted on a layup that he felt should have been a foul. His reaction to the no-call earned him a technical foul. Coach Hardaway was visibly frustrated at the situation.
"Well, if you noticed it seems like there's, um, maybe someone called in, that they're not giving PJ calls anymore, like when he goes to the basket." Hardaway added, "He didn't get the free throw he felt like he deserved, and maybe he said something inappropriately, but it is frustrating as a coach and to PJ that they aren't giving him those same calls."
Rice was able to cut the deficit to two following the technical, but Memphis ultimately extended their lead back to six. Until, the 4:57 mark where the Owls started a 6-0 run that tied the game at 70 with 3:52 to play.
However, inside the final three minutes, Memphis outscored Rice 14-2. The Tigers went on a 10-0 run that was capped off by Nick Jourdain free throws. On this run, Memphis was led defensively by Dain Dainja, who finished the game with three blocks.
Memphis finished shooting 32-65(49.2%) and 2-13(15.4%) from the perimeter, a season low. The Tigers out-rebounded the Owls 40-29 and blocked seven shots. They also ended with seven steals.
The Tigers had a positive assist to turnover ratio, 15-8, and scored 12 points off the Owls 12 turnovers.
Nick Jourdain and PJ Haggerty combined for 40 points, Haggerty with 21 and Jourdain with 19, and Dain Dainja led the team with 25. Dainja also recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds.
The Tigers will travel to Birmingham to take on the UAB Blazers on Sunday. This will be the second game between these teams. Memphis beat UAB 100-77 in the first meeting. Tip-off is set for 3.p.m. as the Tigers look to extend their win streak.
