WICHITA, Kan. - The University of Memphis went on the road and defeated Wichita State, 83-78, Thursday night inside Charles Koch Arena. The Tigers improved to 21-7 overall and 11-4 in the American Athletic Conference.
With the win, the Tigers clinched a first-round bye in next month’s AAC’s Conference Championship in Fort Worth, Texas.
In a game that saw 16 lead changes, Memphis persevered thanks to 19 and 18-point efforts by fifth-year guard Kendric Davis and fifth-year forward DeAndre Williams. Davis made his return to the lineup after missing Sunday's game against No. 2 Houston and added five rebounds and four assists. Williams just missed his ninth double-double of the season, adding nine boards and five assists.
Fifth-year guard Damaria Franklin added 12 points, a pair of rebounds and an assist off the bench and Johnathan Lawson went 2-for-4 on three-point attempts, including a big one with 1:16 to play that put the Tigers up by five.
Memphis shot 54.7 percent as a team (29-53) and held its largest lead at 69-62 with 5:52 to play in the game.
James Rojas took over for the Shockers and Memphis had no answer in the first half as the big man scored 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting. The Tigers did shoot 59.3 percent (16-27) and got 14 points from Davis, but they were tied at 40 going into the locker room.
Memphis shot 50 percent in the second half (13-26), but Wichita State stayed within striking distance throughout. After the Shocker took a 62-61 lead on a three with 8:20 to play, the Tigers used an 8-0 behind back-to-back three-pointers from Franklin and Johnathan Lawson to go in front by seven.
With 1:15 remaining Johnathan Lawson drilled a dagger triple from the right wing to deflate the home crowd Memphis drained six free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Wichita State (14-13, 7-8 AAC) was led by James Rojas’ 19 points, but the Tigers held him scoreless and only allowed one field goal from the big man in the second half.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return home to welcome Cincinnati at 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2 before travelling to SMU next Thursday (March 2) at 8 p.m. for the final road test of the regular season.