DeAndre Williams and Kendric Davis carry the Tigers to the Semifinals

The Memphis Tigers tipped off their first American Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament game against a UCF Knights team coming off a 6-point victory over SMU in the first round of the conference tournament on Thursday afternoon. The Tigers decided to go with a taller starting five with Chandler Lawson moving to Small Forward along with DeAndre Williams and Malcolm Dandridge in the frontcourt and Kendric Davis and Elijah McCadden in the backcourt.

1st Half

Kendric Davis started the game with a three helping the Tigers get off to a quick 5-0 lead and the Tigers’ defense forced 3 early turnovers that helped maintain the lead at 9-8 heading into the first media timeout.

As the teams traded baskets, UCF took the lead at 15-13 before the Tigers turned up the defensive pressure and went on a 17-7 run to take an 8-point lead at 30-22. A couple of dazzling plays highlighted the Tigers’ run.

The Tigers would go on to lead by as many as 10 points in the half and took that lead into halftime at 40-30. The Tigers’ two stars, Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams lead the way offensively for the Tigers with 12 points and 18 points, respectively, and the offense as a whole shot 50% from the field. The Tigers’ defense forced UCF into 12 turnovers.

2nd Half

The Tigers began the 2nd half off to a slow start missing their first 5 shot attempts and turning the ball over twice in the first 4 minutes. UCF used the Tigers’ slow start to fuel a 17-7 run to tie the game at 47 with 12:22 remaining in the game.

After DeAndre Williams scored a basket to break the tie, Chandler Lawson fouled C.J. Kelly while attempting a three which led to him making all three free throws as UCF retook the lead at 50-49. Kendric Davis responded with back-to-back threes to put the Tigers back up by 5 points at 55-50.

Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams continued their scoring tear as DeAndre Williams hit a three and Kendric Davis converted an and-1 opportunity to extend the lead out to 7 points at 68-61 after UCF cut their lead to one point. Both teams continued to trade baskets down the stretch as Memphis led 76-71 going into the final media timeout at the 2:13 mark.

The Tigers converted their free throws down the stretch and held off the UCF rally to advance to the AAC tournament semifinals with an 81-76 victory. DeAndre Williams led the Tigers with 35 points and 13 rebounds and Kendric Davis was right behind him with 33 points, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams combined to score 38 of the Tigers’ 41 points in the 2nd half. Malcolm Dandridge scored the first point of the half followed by 38 consecutive points between the duo before Chandler Lawson hit the final two free throws to close out the game.

Memphis will play the winner of Tulane and Wichita State tomorrow at 4:30 pm CST.