CINCINNATI (AP) — Tyler Harris had 15 points to lead five Memphis players in double figures and the Tigers defeated Cincinnati 81-74 on Tuesday night.
Jalen Duren and Landers Nolley II added 13 points apiece for the Tigers. Lester Quinones chipped in 12 points, and Josh Minott had 10.
Jeremiah Davenport had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Bearcats (16-9, 6-6 American Athletic Conference). David DeJulius added 13 points. Mika Adams-Woods had 12 points.
The Tigers improve to 2-0 against the Bearcats on the season. Memphis defeated Cincinnati 87-80 on Jan. 9.
From the University of Memphis postgame/notes:
Tigers Top Cincinnati for Sixth-Straight Win
CINCINNATI – The Memphis Tigers picked up their sixth-straight win with an 81-74 victory at Cincinnati Tuesday night.
With the win, Memphis completes a regular-season series sweep over the Bearcats for the first time since 1994-95 when the two were in the Great Midwest Conference.
Memphis (15-8, 9-4 American Athletic Conference) was led by Tyler Harris’ 15 points. Jalen Duren and Landers Nolley II had 13 points apiece, and Lester Quinones added 12. Josh Minott was also in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes.
Alex Lomax played 33 minutes and had nine assists with no turnovers.
Memphis led by as many as 17 points in the first half and held a 41-26 advantage at the break. The Tigers shot 52.9 percent in the first half (18-34) and held Cincinnati to 26.7 percent shooting (8-30).
Cincinnati pulled within four points in with just over eight minutes to play, 60-56, but Duren scored six-straight points to put the Tigers back up by 10 at 66-56. The Bearcats got no closer than five points down the stretch.
Memphis ended the game hitting six of its last seven shots.
Cincinnati (16-9, 6-6 AAC) was led by Jeremiah Davenport’s 20 points.
UP NEXT
Memphis’ three-game road trip concludes at RV/RV SMU Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN. The Tigers return to FedExForum to face Temple on Thursday, Feb. 24 and Wichita State on Sunday, Feb. 27. After that, the regular season finishes at South Florida on March 3 and at home against Houston on March 6.
POSTGAME NOTES
Memphis used the starting lineup of Alex Lomax, Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley II, DeAndre Williams and Jalen Duren for the second-straight game.Memphis has used 16 different starting lineups in 23 games this season, which is the most in the nation.Memphis has won three-straight games against Cincinnati for the first time since winning four-in-a-row from 2005-06 through 2008-09.Since Memphis’ last regular-season series sweep of the Bearcats, the two schools have played twice in the regular season six times.Memphis ended the game shooting 53.4 percent from the floor (31-58).The Tigers have won 41-straight games when shooting better than 50.0 percent.The Tigers were 12-for-15 from the free throw line in the game (.800).Memphis has seven games this season shooting at least 80.0 percent from the free throw line with at least 15 attempts.The Tigers accomplished the feat just once last season and four times total in 2019-20.Memphis has won 10-straight games in the month of February.The Tigers are 19-7 in February under head coach Penny Hardaway.Tyler Harris led the Tigers in scoring for the team-best seventh time this season, and he hit three 3-pointers in the game.Memphis is 25-11 when Harris has at least three 3-pointers in a game, including 6-3 this season.Jalen Duren logged his sixth-straight double-digit scoring game with 13 points.Landers Nolley II ended the game with 13 points and six rebounds.Nolley II has scored in double figures in back-to-back games after having 20 at No. 6/7 Houston Saturday afternoon.Lester Quinones ended the game with 12 points, three assists and a steal.The junior has scored in double figures in five-straight games for the first time in his career.Alex Lomax had nine assists and no turnovers in the contest.The nine assists are a season high and match his AAC career high (vs. East Carolina, 2/6/21).Memphis is now 26-6 when Lomax has at least five assists in a game.That includes a 4-2 mark this season.Josh Minott was in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.The freshman scored one point at No. 6/7 Houston Saturday afternoon.DeAndre Williams contributed eight points and eight rebounds.Memphis is 28-9 when he plays in a game, compared to 7-7 when he does not.