Memphis defeats ECU behind strong second half performance

The sky isn’t falling.

Yes, the 89-96 loss to Tulane on the road was disappointing. Sure, the defense wasn’t at the level we expected it to be. But an early loss on the road against a team likely to finish in the top of the conference should be used as a learning opportunity with 16 conference games left. Make no mistake about it though, the Tigers’ margin for error shrunk after the loss on New Year’s Day. Memphis could ill-afford to lose a game like this one against East Carolina at home.

1st Half

Rebounding and defense were points of emphasis during the last week of practice. To start the game, that rebounding emphasis was shown on the first possession as DeAndre Williams opened up the scoring with a dunk after an offensive rebound. A steal from Kendric Davis led to a behind-the-back pass to Chandler Lawson for the lay-up followed by a Williams three and an Elijah McCadden alley-oop finish gave the Tigers an early 9-2 lead.

HAMMER TIME! A-Lo tosses one up from the timeline and Eli finishes with authority 💪

15:22 1H | MEM 10, ECU 4 pic.twitter.com/Kurifd1yy5

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) January 7, 2023

The defense showed up early as well. After only five minutes of game time, Memphis already forced four ECU turnovers and blocked a shot as the Tigers led 10-4. Damaria Franklin had a chance to extend the Tiger lead with a thunderous dunk. But a miss led to a Pirate dunk on the other end. That was the least of Memphis’s worries though.

A few seconds later, Kendric Davis was forced to the locker room after banging heads with an ECU player going for a loose ball. Immediately after the collision, Davis grabbed for his mouth and left the floor bleeding. With 12:20 left in the half, Memphis still held a 12-8 lead.

That lead should’ve been higher as the Tiger offense struggled to execute. ECU took advantage of a Memphis cold streak as the Pirates hit four straight unanswered threes taking a 14-20 lead. Thankfully for the Tigers, Davis came back and scored his first two points to stop the bleeding – pun intended.

The classic two-headed monster of Davis and Williams put Memphis back into the game as they scored the next eight points for the Tigers. But the Pirates still held a 22-23 advantage with 3:20 left in the 1st half.

They extended this lead right after the TV timeout with two more deep threes and two bank layups that seemed to suck the life out of the entire FedExForum. A 10-0 run after Memphis cut the lead to one was not how Coach Penny Hardaway wanted to end the first half. Though Keonte Kennedy gave the fans something to cheer for, Memphis trailed ECU 25-33 at halftime.

While defense has been the emphasis, and rightfully so, the offense was a bigger concern entering the break. The Tigers shot a putrid 36.7 percent from the field, 11.1 percent from three and turned the ball over eight times.

ECU started the game off slowly, but they finished the half shooting 48.1 percent overall and 50 percent from three going 7-of-14. Entering this game, the Pirates ranked 231st in three-point percentage. 231st. Yet, their three-point shooting was what gave them an eight-point lead as they outscored Memphis 25-11 over the final 10:33 of the 1st half.

2nd Half

DeAndre Williams started the second half with a bucket and continued his strong play. Though Davis had yet to find his groove, his fellow backcourt partner Alex Lomax showed why he’s one of the best defensive guards in the country. Lomax forced steals on three of the next five ECU offensive possessions leading to six points to bring the Tigers within one 35-36 at the 15:45 mark. Credit to Elijah McCadden as well for a couple strong finishes at the rim.

Count it ✅ @_mccadden

15:45 2H | ECU 36, MEM 35 pic.twitter.com/2NaQmktZD8

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) January 7, 2023

Another Williams fadeaway and an Elijah McCadden three gave the Tigers a 40-36 lead as Memphis went on an 11-0 run of its own. Davis extended the run with a strong and-one and a fastbreak lay-up after two more steals.

What followed were the finishing touches to a defensive masterpiece. Here ere are the results of ECU’s next six possessions: turnover, turnover, blocked shot, blocked shot, missed three, turnover.

You wanted defense? There you go.

The Tiger offense started clicking as well as Davis found his rhythm and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu came alive with a thunderous alley-oop finish and tough spin-layup that pushed the Memphis lead to 51-36 with 11:44 to go.

18-0 run‼️

KAO comes outta nowhere to finish the lob👊

13:26 2H | MEM 47, ECU 36 pic.twitter.com/tt9d9lrhtp

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) January 7, 2023

ECU finally scored after the timeout ending a 22-0 Memphis run. Offensive sloppiness from the Tigers allowed the Pirates to quietly get back in the game cutting the lead to eight at the 6:46 mark.

Kendric Davis and Keonte Kennedy gave the Tigers an offensive spark, while Jonathan Lawson showed his defensive versatility with a big block at the rim. But ECU just wouldn’t go away. The lead was still eight with 3:20 to play.

Though Memphis still struggled from the floor, enough free throws and a couple timely buckets were made to put this game to bed.

Quick Takeaways

1. Depth Showed Up

In my article discussing what we’ve learned from the Tigers’ non-conference games, Memphis’s depth was a point of emphasis. There is enough talent besides Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams for Memphis to find success if one of those two players has an off night. With Davis not looking right after the collision, the Tigers got impactful contributions on both sides of the floor from Alex Lomax, Elijah McCadden, Keonte Kennedy, and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu.

2. Defense Made a Statement

Credit ECU for an impressive 1st half where the Pirates shot lights out. They had all the confidence and momentum heading into halftime with an eight-point lead. But whatever swagger they had quickly turned into misery after the Memphis defense tortured ECU with intensity and pressure. After ECU big man Ludgy Debaut hit a layup with 16:56 left, the Pirates didn’t score their point until the 11:10 mark. Five minutes and 46 seconds of relentless defense from Alex Lomax and company changed the entire complexity of the game. This was the defensive performance Tiger Nation has been waiting for.

3. No Foul Trouble, No Problem

The Memphis Tigers rank 294th nationally in fouls per game averaging 19.1. Against ECU, Memphis only committed 13 fouls, second lowest this season. Only two players finished the game with three or more fouls. DeAndre Williams only fouled twice allowing him to stay on the floor and impact the game. He finished with 19 points (8-of-17 FG%, 1-of-3 3pt.%), four rebounds, two steals and one block. Good things will happen if the Tigers can limit the fouls like they did today.

Memphis looks to win back-to-back games as they head to Orlando to take on the UCF Knights on Wednesday, January 11 at 6 pm central.