Memphis, TN—The first edition of the Hoops for St. Jude Classic took place Tuesday evening. It pitted the Memphis Tiger men's and women's basketball teams against storied programs from the Carolinas.
The North Carolina Tarheels downed Memphis 84-76 in a hard-fought "exhibition".
But this game did not feel like "just a scrimmage." Whether it came down to diving for loose balls or a Dain Dainja technical foul while standing up for his teammates, the Tigers fought hard and have a lot to be excited about.
Game recap: The Tigers were outhustling the Tarheels early in the contest. Despite starting the game 0/5 from three, Memphis took a six-point lead into the second media break with 11:52 remaining in the first half thanks to six early offensive rebounds.
Soon after, PJ Carter got the ball rolling, draining a three from the top of the key. He was followed up by a Tyrese Hunter three to give Memphis a double-digit lead.
Of course, the Tarheels had no intentions of laying down.
Led by junior guard Seth Trimble’s 18 first-half points, North Carolina battled back from a first-half double-digit deficit.
Memphis maintained a 39-36 lead at the break.
Being the elite program, the Tarheels made adjustments and came out swinging.
More challenging driving lanes and aggressive hands created Tiger turnovers, which led to easy transition scoring for the Tarheels.
Some unfortunate calls and good Tarheel shotmaking gave North Carolina a 14-point lead with 7 minutes left in the game.
But Memphis battled back thanks to PJ Haggerty’s late scoring bump.
With three minutes left in the ball game, Haggerty sprinted out in transition and was bumped, and Memphis center Dain Dainja let Tarheel guard Seth Trimble know about it while heading to a break.
Dainja’s technical foul deflated Memphis’ chances as the ball game slipped away.
Although it was only an exhibition match, the game was everything you wanted to see - out of both squads—toughness, fight, and hustle.
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