Tyler Harris was described as a nice story and non-scholarship bench piece coming into the 2021-22 college basketball season. On Sunday, Harris was still coming off the bench, still not on scholarship at Memphis, but has been helping lift Memphis of late. This time a 24-point performance that delivered Memphis a come-from-behind victory at Tulsa. Final: Memphis 83 Tulsa 81
Josh Minott also was a bright spot off the bench scoring 19 points, going 10-of-10 from the free throw line with 9 rebounds.
Next up: Memphis gets a rematch at FedExForum back home against East Carolina on Thursday (1/27) at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN 2 TV.
Full coverage of the Memphis Tigers on 92.9 FM ESPN this week
More notes from the University of Memphis
Second-Half Surge Sends Memphis Past Tulsa
TULSA, Okla. – A second half for the ages helped Memphis erase a 15-point deficit and capture an 83-81 win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Sunday afternoon in Tulsa, Okla.
Memphis (10-8, 4-4 American Athletic Conference) shot 70.8 percent from the field in the second 20 minutes (17-24), missing just one two-point try. The Tigers only committed four turnovers after halftime and just nine for the game, a season low.
Playing without three of its top statistical contributors, Jalen Duren, Landers Nolley II and DeAndre Williams, the Tigers were led by Tyler Harris’ season high 24 points with six 3-pointers. Josh Minott added a career-high 18 to go along with nine rebounds, and he was 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Malcolm Dandridge and Lester Quinones added nine points apiece, and Alex Lomax had eight points, seven assists and four rebounds. Lomax did not commit a turnover in 32 minutes.
Memphis trailed 46-33 at the half and by 15 at the start of the second half, but from there the Tigers began to chip away. Memphis rattled off eight-straight points on a Quinones triple and five points from Lomax to make the score 50-44, and a few minutes later it was 10-of-12 points to bring the game within two at 61-59.
The Tigers gained their first lead of the game after a Dandridge lay-in at the 7:11 mark, and Tulsa never re-took the advantage. Memphis made big play after big play in the final minutes, including forcing the clock to expire on Tulsa’s last possession when the Golden Hurricane had a chance to tie or win.
Tulsa (6-11, 0-6 AAC) was led by Jeriah Horne’s 19 points, with 16 of those from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Memphis returns to FedExForum on Thursday against East Carolina at 8 p.m. Thursday’s game is a Black Out, with fans encouraged to wear black, and it is also the Coaches vs. Cancer game. Speed painter Jessica Haas will be performing at halftime.
POSTGAME NOTES
Memphis used the starting lineup of Alex Lomax, Emoni Bates, Lester Quinones, Earl Timberlake and Malcolm Dandridge for the first time this season.Memphis has used 13 different starting lineups in 18 games this season, which is the most in the nation.The win snapped a six-game Memphis regular-season losing streak in Tulsa.The Tigers’ last regular-season victory at Tulsa came on March 3, 2012.Memphis takes a 31-21 advantage in the all-time series.Memphis’ previous low for turnovers in a game was 11 (2x, last vs. Cincinnati, 1/9).Memphis ended the game shooting 50.9 percent from the field (28-55).The Tigers have won 39 of their last 40 games when hitting the 50-percent mark from the floor.The Tigers’ 10 3-pointers are the second-most they have made in a game this year (13, vs. Tennessee Tech, 11/9).Tyler Harris eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career with the 24-point game.His 6 3-pointers are a new season and AAC high and one shy of his career high (7, vs. College of Charleston, 11/25/18).The senior has scored in double figures in five-straight games, including 20-plus in two of those.Josh Minott’s previous career high was 15 points, set Jan. 1 at Wichita State.Only five other Tigers since 2010-11 had turned in a perfect game from the free throw line with at least 10 attempts.The most recent was Jeremiah Martin at Wichita State on Feb. 23, 2019.In two games since returning from injury, Alex Lomax has 12 assists and only one turnover.The seven assists are a season high.Memphis is 23-6 when the senior has five or more assists in a game.Lester Quinones hit three 3-pointers for the third time in six games.He was 1-for-11 from distance over the last three contests.Chandler Lawson played 16 minutes in his first game since Nov. 24.He had missed the previous 12 games due to injury.