DeAndre Williams leads Memphis to second consecutive victory

Kendric Davis was the hero in mid-January against Temple. His game winning buzzer-beater gave Memphis a 61-59 win in Philadelphia. Though this game pales in comparison to the Super Bowl featuring another team from Philly, Memphis must treat every game like it’s the Super Bowl if the Tigers want to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

1st Half

DeAndre Williams has been phenomenal this season. He continued his strong play with a triple to start the game. Kendric Davis responded to a couple Temple buckets with a jumper of his own. Early on though, it was Temple who had a 10-5 lead with 15:26 in the half.

Memphis answered with a 11-2 run capped off back-to-back Jayden Hardaway threes. The Tigers led 16-12.

Back-to-Back threes for @jayden_hardaway pic.twitter.com/yzxzowvNcD

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) February 12, 2023

Both teams went back and forth trading buckets before DeAndre Williams took over. With much of the hype surrounding Kendric Davis, it’s easy to forget about Williams. But Temple sure won’t.

DeAndre scored the next eight Memphis points as the Tigers took a 31-26 lead at the 2:44 mark of the half. A couple buckets from Elijah McCadden and a Kendric Davis free throw further helped Memphis enter halftime with a 36-33 advantage. Memphis’s defense was also impressive forcing 11 Temple turnovers.

2nd Half

Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu started the half with a nice hook shot in the paint. Then, he got a nice offensive rebound giving the Tigers an extra possession. Kendric Davis capitalized with a corner three. After another defensive stop, DeAndre soared through the lane for a lay-up giving the Tigers a 43-33 lead.

After Temple called a timeout, they hit a triple to stop the run. But that didn’t phase Memphis on their next offensive possesssion. The Tigers ran a little high low action as DeAndre got the ball in the high post and found a cutting Kao for the alley oop slam.

Up, up, and away!@CASHMONEYKAO pic.twitter.com/OzmKlodlDP

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) February 12, 2023

Williams answered another Temple three with a bucket of his own. At the under 16 minute media timeout, Memphis held a 47-39 advantage.

After Keonte Kennedy hit the second of two free-throws, Kendric Davis stole Temple’s in-bounds pass leading to an Elijah McCadden lay-up. The threes kept falling for Temple, though. But Keonte responded to another punch from the Owls with a haymaker of his own. With the shot clock winding down, Keonte got the ball in isolation at the top of the three point arch. He dribbled right, did a between-the-legs crossover to his left, and hit a step-back triple with his defender in his face.

Temple’s Damian Dunn thought anything you can do, he could do better and knocked down a deep three. But Kendric Davis came back with a clean mid-range jumper. That bucket started a 10-0 run punctuated by Elijah McCadden’s strong and-one finish sending shockwaves through the FedEx Forum. The crowd loved seeing Memphis take a 62-45 lead with 11:30 to play.

A couple Temple buckets were answered by McCadden hitting another lay-up and Kendric Davis finishing through contact at the rim. Memphis had its biggest lead of the game at 18 points. But the next two Temple possessions led to easy points. Coach Hardaway wanted to limit the damage and called a timeout as the Tigers led 67-53 at the 9:30 mark.

Temple made a defensive adjustment and swtiched to a 2-3 zone, something many opposing teams do against Memphis. This really bothered the Tigers as they went scoreless on their next few possessions as the Owls’ offense hit another gear. They went on a 12-0 run cutting the lead to just six. Kendric Davis stopped the bleeding with a crafty, euro-step lay up. But what was once a comfortable 18 point lead was only 8 with 7:05 remaining.

After another Temple basket, Memphis got caught out on an out-of-bounds play. The lead was just four. Two buckets in a row from Jayden Hardaway and DeAndre Williams pushed the lead back to eight with 5:13 left. But Temple’s Hysier Miller brought it back to six.

Memphis came out of the under 4:00 media timeout with a nice defensive stop to maintain the six-point lead. On its next offensive possession, McCadden found Dre in the corner for a huge triple. Temple hit back with an and-one of its own. Jayden Hardaway followed that with a lay-up as both teams went back and forth.

The lead reached 10 after a mad scramble for a ball that somehow found its way to Chandler Lawson for a lay-up to beat the shot clock. Temple’s offensive luck finally hit a snag as McCadden grabbed a rebound after the Owls missed a shot to stay in the game. Then, DeAndre Williams found Hardaway for a finish at the rim to put this game on ice.

Memphis got a much needed victory, 86-77. DeAndre Williams was incredible with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Kendric Davis finished with 21 points, four assists, four steals, and two rebounds.

The UCF Knights come to town Thursday, February 16 for another important game.