Tigers erase 16-point second half deficit, come up just short at SMU
DALLAS – The Memphis Tigers wiped out a 16-point second-half deficit in just eight minutes of game action, but the SMU Mustangs escaped with a 67-65 win over the Tigers Thursday night in Dallas.
The Tigers (9-6, 5-3 AAC) were down 54-38 with 11:56 left in the game, but Memphis clawed back to take a 59-58 lead just eight minutes later. That go-ahead basket was a DeAndre Williams dunk, and the Tigers had a 64-63 lead a couple of minutes later after a Landers Nolley II 3-pointer.
After that, however, SMU (9-3, 5-3 AAC) hit four free throws and re-took a 67-64 lead with 31 seconds left. Memphis drove down and Boogie Ellis was fouled trying a 3-pointer, and he headed to the line to potentially tie the game with three seconds left.
He made the first and missed the second, but Memphis secured a jump ball and got possession after he missed the third on purpose. But the Tigers could not convert on their last try and fell by two on the road.
The 16-point comeback came on the heels of completing a 13-point comeback win against SMU two nights ago in Memphis.
Nolley II finished with a game-high 19 points, and he was 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Four of those triples came in the second half. Williams had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis.
The Tigers limited the AAC’s leading scorer, Kendric Davis, to six points Thursday night, 12 below his season average. This was after Memphis held him to eight points Tuesday night.
The Tigers shot 47.4 percent from the floor in the first half, but that was only 9-for-19 after committing 12 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Those miscues led to 11 SMU points, which were the difference in Memphis’ 33-23 halftime deficit.
Memphis outshot the Mustangs overall and from 3-point range in the first half, and the Tigers had eight assists on their nine baskets.
But to help facilitate the comeback, the Tigers only committed five turnovers in the last 20 minutes.
Memphis ended the game shooting 47.9 percent (23-48).
The Tigers had 19 assists on their 23 baskets.
The loss snapped a three-game Memphis winning streak.
Up Next
The Tigers return to FedExForum next week for four-straight games, beginning Monday against UCF at 7 p.m. Memphis also faces UCF on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and both games against the Knights can be seen on ESPN+. The Tigers finish next week against East Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The last game on Memphis’ four-game homestand is Thursday, Feb. 11 against Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
Postgame Notes
Memphis used the starting lineup of Jayden Hardaway, Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley II, DeAndre Williams, and Moussa Cisse for the fourth-straight game.When it was used for the first time in the Tigers’ game against Wichita State on Jan. 21, it became Memphis’ seventh different starting lineup in the first 12 games of the season.Memphis still leads the all-time series with SMU, 15-13The four meetings between the two teams in the last two seasons have been decided by a combined 15 points.Landers Nolley II ended the game with 19 points, and he went 5-for-9 from 3-point rangeHe has had 10-plus points in five of the last six games and a team-high 10 times this season.He has hit multiple 3-pointers in three of the last four games and 10 times in 15 games this year.DeAndre Williams finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.He has scored in double-figures in four-straight games and seven times in his eight games with Memphis.The double-double was his first as a Tiger and sixth of his collegiate career.Alex Lomax dished out eight assists.That was his second-most of the season, behind 11 against Central Arkansas on Dec. 4.