No. 18 Tigers Fall on the Road to Temple, 88-81
PHILADELPHIA – The No. 18 University of Memphis men's basketball team fell to Temple, 88-81, in an American Athletic Conference road game Thursday night inside the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Full coverage of the Tigers Friday on 92.9 FM ESPN.
The Tigers (13-4, 3-1 AAC) were dominated on the boards, getting outrebounded by 24, as they suffered their first defeat of the conference season. Memphis shot 27-of-60 (45.0%) overall and hit just 6-of-21 (28.6%) from three-point range.
Redshirt sophomore PJ Haggerty led the team with 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Tyrese Hunter put up 16 points, six assists and a pair of steals.
Temple (11-6, 3-1 AAC) was led by Jamal Mashburn Jr.’s 21 points, five rebounds and four dimes, as five Owls reached double figures. Quante Berry chipped in 19 on 8-of-12 shooting.
The Tigers led for only 4:03 of the game and trailed for good after Temple went in front 17-16 with 9:59 on the clock in the first half. The Owls ran their advantage up to as many as 15 early in the second half, but they could never put Memphis away until the final seconds.
Memphis pulled to within two with less than six minutes to play before Mashburn Jr. knocked down a triple on the other end. Temple closed the game with six-straight made field goals and converted seven free throws in the final minute to seal the game.
POSTGAME NOTES
Memphis used the starting lineup of PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Moussa Cisse for the 14th time this season. They are now 10-4 on the year with that lineup. The Tigers dropped to 7-2 this season on courts away from home, including 4-1 in true road games. Memphis now leads the all-time series to 15-12 after dropping its first game against the Owls in the last seven meetings. Temple outrebounded Memphis 49-25, the most boards allowed by the Tigers this season. The Owls scored 19 points off 22 offensive rebounds. It matches the most offensive boards allowed in seven seasons under Penny Hardaway. Temple had four players with at least five rebounds, while Memphis only had one (Dainja).Memphis had 14 assists to just 10 turnovers, the second fewest miscues of the year. PJ Haggerty recorded his 12th game of 20-plus points this season, including five of his last seven. He scored 19 of those points in the second half after going just 1-of-4 with two points in the first 20 minutes. The nation's leading free throw maker went 9-of-13 at the line after drawing seven fouls. Tyrese Hunter hit double figures for the 13th time this season behind 16 points in 37 minutes. He matched his season high with six dimes and led the team with three 3-pointers (3-of-7). Dain Dainja has now scored 10-plus points (14) in five-straight outings and in 11 total games this season. Ten of his points came in the second half in 11 minutes. The big man grabbed five rebounds and blocked a team-high two shots. Nicholas Jourdain recorded 11 points and three rebounds in 21 minutes.It is his first double-digit effort since putting up 15 against Ohio on Nov. 15.
UP NEXT
The Tigers finish up their two-game road swing on Sunday with a 2 p.m. CT tip at Charlotte on ESPN2. It will be the first visit to the 49ers as AAC foes.