The University of Memphis men's basketball team opened their season with a comeback win against SEC opponent Missouri 83-75.
First Half
At the first media timeout, the game featured a lot of missed shots and turnovers as Missouri took a 5-4 lead 1/8 of the way through the contest.
Nicholas Jourdain's three fouls with 13 minutes remaining in the half hurt the Tigers, especially considering the lack of frontcourt depth after Tyreek Smith's dismissal from the program.
And Missouri's onslaught continued throughout the first half as Missouri led by as many as 14. Led by Colby Rogers (7 points) and Moussa Cisse (5 points, 4 rebounds), the Tigers in blue struggled to hit shots, understandably so, considering most of them were contested by Missouri.
Memphis trailed 42-32 at the break, and Missouri shot 18/33 (54.5%), the majority of those shots wide-open.
Second Half:
Memphis slowly clawed at Missouri's double-digit lead for the first 10 minutes of the final half. With 10:23 remaining, Tyrese Hunter buried a triple, giving Memphis a 56-55 lead. Accordingly, the FedEx Forum and its 11,709 fans in attendance exploded in excitement.
Memphis' run saw high-level ball pressure, energy, and hustle, which is a run the Tigers hope to encapsulate going forward.
In Memphis' two exhibition games against top-10 teams, PJ Haggerty's slow first half led to an explosive second half, but this time for 22 points.
Standouts:
Moussa Cisse: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 18 minutes
Tyrese Hunter: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
PJ Haggerty: 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers
