The 14-10 Wichita State Shockers upset the No.14 Memphis Tigers 84-79 at home. Memphis held an 8-game win streak, but now fall to 21-5. Despite the loss, the Tigers still sit at the top of the American.
Memphis took their first lead of the game following an 8-0 run at the 12:39 mark. Tyrese Hunter sunk his first triple of the game to cap it off, giving the Tigers a 14-10 lead.
In the final 5 minutes of the half, the Shockers went on an 11-0 run that gave them the advantage back. Memphis was able to put up its own points with 5 seconds to go, but was still outscored 11-3 before going into halftime.
The Tigers trailed 32-28 heading into the second half. Tyrese Hunter was the only Tiger to score in double digits and PJ Haggerty had just 2 points, shooting 1-8.
There were 14 ties and 14 lead changes in this game and the start of the second half followed suit. Nick Jourdain threw down 2 slams to tie the game and the Shockers answered with free throws.
It was not until the 14:30 mark, where PJ Haggerty scored 6 straight, that Memphis had their first lead over 1 point in the half. Following Haggerty's first make from beyond the arc, the Tigers led 47-43.
Less than a minute later, PJ Carter hit back-to-back triples, his only points of the game, to push the Tiger's advantage to 8.
In the following 4 minutes, Wichita State outscored Memphis 10-2 and tied the game at 55 with 7:30 to play. During this stretch, the Tigers shot 1-4, committed 3 turnovers, and missed 3/3 free throws.
Moussa Cisse found Nick Jourdain under the basket, and the forward finished at the rim with 3:39 to play. Just 30 seconds later, Jourdain scored again off a tip-in to give Memphis a 65-63 lead.
Following a basket from the Shockers, PJ Haggerty gave the Tigers a 3-point lead after he hit his second triple of the game. Memphis appeared to have the game under control. After a Tyrese Hunter basket, they led by 4 with 38 seconds to go.
However, the Shockers answered quickly to cut the deficit to 1 with 34 seconds remaining. Then, Memphis committed an unforced turnover off the inbound where Dante Harris dribbled the ball off his leg, with no defender present, out of bounds.
Wichita State was fouled and they converted on their trip to the line to tie the game at 71. Memphis looked to Colby Rogers to win, but the Wichita State transfer could not knock down the contested 3.
After the Shockers erased the Tigers 4-point lead in the opening minutes of OT, Moussa Cisse converted on a second chance opportunity to give Memphis a 77-75 lead with 1:20 remaining.
Bijan Cortes hit a pivotal triple in the following possession that put the Shockers up 78-77. Following a missed layup by PJ Haggerty, Wichita State scored again, putting them up 3.
Tyrese Hunter made a pair of free throws that were erased by the Shockers, following their own trip to the charity stripe. Wichita State decided not to foul Memphis on the following possession, despite being up 3, and Tyrese Hunter could not convert on his game-winning attempt.
Memphis shot 27-75(36.0%) and 10-26(38.5%) from the perimeter. The Tigers finished with a positive assist to turnover ratio(22-10). Despite shooting 4-18, Haggerty led the team with 6 assists.
The Tigers were out rebounded 54-45. The Shocker's 19 offensive rebounds resulted in 18 second chance points. Moussa Cisse led the Tigers with 14 rebounds.
Tyrese Hunter was the leading scorer with 24 points. Hunter finished shooting 7-21 from the field and 4-11 from the perimeter.
The Tigers will have a week to recover from the loss. They host the Florida Atlantic Owls on Sunday. The Owls sit at 4th in the conference with a 15-10 record. In their first matchup, Memphis won 90-62. The Tigers will look to get back on track and tip-off is set for 1.p.m.
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