The Memphis Tigers opened conference play with a 78-75 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. The game came down to the wire with guard Jahvon Quinerly draining a 3-pointer with less than 4 seconds to play, the first 3 of the half for the cold Tigers.
Although they came away with a win, the Tigers did not leave Oklahoma unscathed. Guard Caleb Mills went down with a non-contact injury. Mills was carried off the court by Coach Hardaway and the medical staff with 2:19 to play in the first half. Mills was later seen in a brace on his knee, and a smile on his face.
Memphis improves to 12-2 and 1-0 in conference play. This game was a tale of two halves for the Tigers. The initial 20 minutes we saw an efficient, well-oiled, coached-up team, a squad that scored 49 points off 29 shots. In the second half they fell into a lazy and sloppy style that allowed Tulsa to close the gap in the final minutes.
The second half looked like the Tigers vs Vanderbilt and Austin Peay--- the first was closer to the Tigers vs Clemson and Virginia.
Malcolm Dandridge made sure his presence was known with his two-handed slam at the 18:34 mark. Minutes later, David Jones got his second fast break bucket of the game and brought the score to 15-9 with 14:02 to play.
A majority of the nearly 50 point half revolved around the Tigers ability to set the tempo of the game and create turnovers and force bad shots from the Golden Hurricanes. They went 3-13 from three and turned it over 9 times.
With 10:29 remaining Memphis went on a 10-0 run and jumped to a 13 point lead over Tulsa. The run was thanks to the physical defense and was started off by center Nae'Qwan Tomlin. The Golden Hurricanes would go on to lessen the deficit to 5 with 4:45 to play.
Memphis dominated the final minutes of the half, outscoring Tulsa 9-2. Going into half the score was 49-35. Despite their own 10 turnovers Memphis scored 13 points off turnovers compared to Tulsa's 6.
The biggest problem in the second half for the Tigers was the offense. Tulsa switched to a 2-3 zone, which was giving Memphis problems. They made the Tigers shoot and Memphis went a detrimental 1-11 in the second half.
There was not a high scoring run for either team in the second half, but instead a momentum switch. Tulsa was controlling the flow of the game and flipped the turnover battle. They only gave the ball up 6 times to Memphis' 11.
Through the first 10 minutes Memphis only managed 11 points. Then with 10:45 to play the Tigers lead dropped to only 4 points. When Memphis needed a bucket Tomlin scored 5 straight points en route to a 7-0 run.
The Tigers shakily held onto their single-digit lead until it all fell apart with less than a minute left.
In the last 40 seconds Memphis turned the ball over twice. Both of them came from Jahvon Quinerly, who would go on to make the game winning shot. The second was a foul on the inbound, as the guard pushed his defender resulting in Tulsa's possession under their own basket.
The Golden Hurricanes hit a corner three to tie the score at 75 with 33 seconds to play. Quinerly, who kept a cool demeanor, brought the ball up and dribbled at half court until 10 seconds remained on the shot clock. The senior guard then passed to Nick Jourdain and trailed behind him a few feet beyond the perimeter. Jourdain passed the ball back to Quinerly and he knocked down the game-winning three.
A redemption for the star's previous turnovers.
The MVP for the Tigers was Nae'Qwan Tomlin. The Kansas State transfer put up 17 points and 7 rebounds and shot 7-12 from the field. He was the player who broke the scoring drought and played efficient defense. David Jones also had 17 points and 8 rebounds, but also committed 7 turnovers. Memphis shot 50% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc. The Tigers made 18-21 free throws, 85.7%.
Memphis has now won 7 games in a row and remains at the top of the AAC over rival Florida Atlantic. The Penny Hardaway Tigers will play the 10-4 SMU Mustangs on January 7 at FedEx Forum. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
