The Memphis Tigers traveled to the Mizzou arena to take on the Tigers of Missouri. Memphis came away with a 70-55 win over Mizzou Friday night. Coached by Rick Stansbury, the Tigers improved to 2-0 and Missouri dropped to 1-1. Memphis started off slow once again, but came roaring back in the 2nd half to conquer Missouri.
The opening of this game seemed very familiar for Memphis, with slow, sluggish play with elite flashes. Guard Jaykwon Walton continued his hot-streak from the opener and started the Tigers off with a three. The first half, for the most part, was dominated by Missouri. Memphis had a size advantage, but seemed scared to attack the paint.
At 12:34, Missouri went on a 5 minute and 49 second long 19-4 run. This put Missouri up 29-15 with 6:45 to play in the half. Then the remaining 6:45 belonged to Memphis, going on a 11-4 run to bring the score to 33-26 ,Missouri, at half.
The 2nd half was when the Memphis Tigers came to life. In the 1st half, the Tigers shot 35.5% from the field, and improved to 51.6% in the 2nd. They also caught fire from 3, 2-9 in the first and 5-10 in the second.
Point guard Jahvon Quinerly had the hot-hand in the 2nd half as well. Scoring 14 points and shooting 5 of 7, and dealing out 4 assists. Quinerly was the lead in the Tigers 19-5 2nd half run, which put Memphis up 48-38 with 13:33 to play. It was in the 2nd half where Memphis decided to put their size to use. Senior center Jordan Brown asserted his dominance in the post, scoring 6 points in the 2nd half, and 12 on the night.
The rest of of the 2nd half was the Memphis show, they executed on all levels. Turning the ball over only 4 times and shooting with efficiency helped the Tigers take a 62-45 lead with 4:57 left to play. Memphis outscored Missouri 44-22 in the 2nd half, en route to their 15 point win.
Quinerly was Memphis's leading scorer, totaling 18 points on the night off 70% shooting. He remained calm during the first half woes and made some big baskets for the Tigers to get them back into the game. Jaykwon Walton had 13 points, and shot 60% from beyond the arc. Memphis out-rebounded Missouri 47 to 33, and forced 12 turnovers. While the Tigers had a great game, they did shoot 9-16 from the free throw line, 56.3%.
The Tigers looked like a polished version of themselves in this game. Cleaning up sloppiness and missed passes from the Jackson State game, and tightening up on defense. In the post-game last week players, Caleb Mills and Jaykwon Walton, emphasized how it is a player-lead team, and that was evident. Walton routinely calmed his guys down when emotions ran high, and kept them focused.
Memphis will host Alabama State(0-2) on Friday November 17, at FedExForum. Coach Stansbury will serve his final game as Tigers head coach, as Penny Hardway will return to the court on the 22nd when the Tigers take on the Wolverines.
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