The No.1 Memphis Tigers defeated the No.4 Tulane Green Wave 78-77 and advanced to the AAC finals. The Tigers will have a chance to win the conference outright against the winner of UAB and North Texas.
Pj Haggerty and Dain Dainja led the Tigers to victory. After scoring 42 against Wichita State, Haggerty finished with 18 today, shooting 3-10 from the field. The guard was perfect from the foul line(14-14). On the other hand, Dainja scored 23 off 10-15 shooting, but went 3-13 from the charity stripe.
Both squads got off to a slow start. After a Colby Roger's triple at the 12:52 mark, the Tigers led 11-7. The Green Wave responded with an 8-2 run that tied the game at 18.
Minutes later, Pj Haggerty scored his only field goal of the half to give the Tigers a five-point advantage. Pj Carter, who finished with nine points, hit a three with three seconds remaining to push the Tiger's lead to seven before half.
Coming out of the locker room, the Green Wave immediately answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 39. Tulane held a one-point lead at 15:43, until Moussa Cisse hit a shot. The big man sparked an 8-0 run that was highlighted by another Pj Carter triple.
However, just before the run started, Tyrese Hunter left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. Hunter was seen with a boot on his foot on the bench. Coach Hardaway said, "We don't know what's going on with Tyrese." Guard Dante Harris is also ruled out for tomorrow's game.
Despite the injuries, Hardaway feels his team is prepared to step up in replacement for the two guards. Hunter finished with seven points and four assists.
By the eight minute mark, the game was tied at 59. Tulane found success in backdoor cuts and trips to the foul line.
The largest lead for the remainder of the game was five points. Neither team could pull away.
The Tigers led by five after Dain Dainja converted on an and one opportunity with 4:15 to go. Memphis was scoreless for the next two minutes until Moussa Cisse split a one and one to put the Tigers up 68-67.
Despite having an inefficient day, Pj Haggerty showed why he is the leader of the Tigers in the final stretch of the game. The star guard was the only Tiger to score inside the two minute mark.
Haggerty sunk a short jumper at 1:03 to give Memphis a 70-69 lead. He also converted at the free throw line to push the lead to 72-71.
Moussa Cisse blocked Rowan Brumbaugh's layup attempt that would have put the Green Wave up one with 26 seconds remaining. The officials ruled the block a goal tend on the floor, but after review, overturned the call.
However, since there was no clear possession after, Tulane retained possession. Off the inbound, Haggerty stole the ball from Brumbaugh and called a quick timeout. Once again, Haggerty converted on his trip to the foul line and put Memphis up three with 16 seconds left.
After Tulane split a pair of free throws, Haggerty iced the game at the charity stripe, pushing the advantage to four. The Green Wave did sink a logo three to cut the deficit to one as time expired.
Memphis finished shooting 25-65(38.5%) from the field and 5-23(21.7% from the perimeter. The Tigers turned the ball over 13 times and finished with 16 assists. They out rebounded the Green Wave 47-34 and 22-9 on the offensive glass. However, the Tigers only scored 10 second chance points.
Memphis will look to claim the American crown tomorrow in the Dickies Arena. Tip off is set for 2.p.m.
