The Hustle were back in action for a southern showdown versus the Birmingham Squadron on Thursday night as the two teams met for the first time during the regular season. There were a lot of eyes on tonight’s matchup between fans eager to see their hometown Hustle and to also see Trey Jemison of the Squadron, as he is rumored to be on the Grizzlies watchlist for their recently opened two-way vacancy. Thursday was most definitely quite the game for numerous reasons and it didn’t fall short of expectation.
Memphis came into the matchup shorthanded, as Jason Preston is with the Jazz, and Adonis Arms and Jacob Gilyard were both listed as inactive. This once again put the team’s back against the wall as they were forced to go deep into their rotations and acclimate to a condensed roster, and the struggles were apparent throughout the night. The Hustle were outscored in three of four quarters; they were manhandled on the boards; they couldn’t find a steady flow to the game; and they were ultimately just outplayed on the evening, but you really can’t fault them too much due to the given circumstances.
Solid performances were contributed by the guys Thursday; the team just couldn’t get it done as a whole. Jake LaRavia poured on 20 points, five assists, and four rebounds; Matthew Hurt contributed 18 points and seven rebounds; and David Johnson added 19 points and six assists. The Hustle were left with a shallow bench, and production was slow outside of the starters for the most part. It was just an all-around difficult situation for the guys to battle through tonight.
I typically don’t go in depth with opposing players, but with the two-way contract cloud hanging over our heads, it is absolutely necessary to take a glimpse at what Trey Jemison did on the evening. In 30 minutes of action, he went off for 15 points and 14 rebounds (7 offensive) while shooting 6-7 from the field and finishing with a high efficiency rate of +21 (+/-) on the evening. Jemison really does look like a man amongst boys out there, and tonight was no exception. It’s especially easy to get excited when you realize that his agent was present with him for the game this evening. It’ll be interesting to see how the coming days transpire…
The Hustle will resume action on Sunday versus the Ontario Clippers, where they will look to snap their four-game losing streak. Tip will be live from the Landers Center in Southaven at 7:00 p.m. Come show the guys some love as they look to push back into the win column.
For tickets, call (901) 888-HOOP, visit https://memphis.gleague.nba.com/ticket-central, or visit the Landers Center box office.