PJ Haggerty on how No. 18 Memphis beat UAB: ‘We wanted it more.’

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — PJ Haggerty knew what was at stake for Memphis basketball on Sunday.

A second win over UAB this season meant the Tigers would maintain sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) with only two more regular-season games ahead, putting them in prime position to win their first regular-season title since joining the league in 2013-14. A loss, meanwhile, would force Memphis into a three-way tie with North Texas and the Blazers and subsequently place it in danger of either losing or sharing the championship.

Haggerty, the Tigers’ leading scorer (21.4 points per game), despised both options a defeat offered. So, once Ja’Borri McGhee’s third 3-pointer increased UAB’s lead to 9 points with 12 minutes left inside Bartow Arena, Haggerty called his own number to dig Memphis out of the hole.

The 6-foot-3 redshirt sophomore first trimmed the Blazers’ edge to 7 with a layup, then to 5 with two made free throws on the Tigers’ next possession. He completed his own 6-0 run with a jumper 30 seconds later, slicing the deficit down to 3.

Back-to-back Moussa Cisse dunks cut it to a point shortly after, but Efrem “Butta” Johnson then hit two foul shots to up it back to 3. Haggerty, however, then went on another scoring rampage to get Memphis over the hump. Two jumpers and three free throws completed a 7-0 Haggerty run, giving the Tigers a 73-69 advantage with six minutes to play.

Haggerty scored 13 of his 17 second-half points over a six-minute span, and Memphis sprung off his outburst to unleash a 15-7 run in five minutes and 20 seconds to lead by as many as 12 points with 40 seconds to go. He finished with a game-high 25 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and a steal as the Tigers defeated the Blazers 88-81.

So, what changed so quickly? How did this suddenly go from a potential runaway victory for UAB to another statement at the Blazers’ expense? How did Memphis go from looking discombobulated and overwhelmed by UAB’s raucous home-court advantage to practically taking over the building in a matter of minutes?

Well, the answer depends on who one asks. Tigers Coach Penny Hardaway, for example, offered a more diplomatic outlook.

“The switch was just staying steady,” he told reporters postgame. “Every timeout, it was just, ‘Stay steady, stay the course, get a string of stops together and come back on the other end and score.’”

Haggerty doubts there was a switch, though. In his mind, Memphis’ comeback was inevitable, especially given the time of year.

“We wanted it more,” he said. “Everybody gets a lead. But at the end of the day, we finished strong and came out on top…That’s what we prepared to do all year leading up to March. Now that it’s here, everybody’s just stepping up.”

To Haggerty’s point, he didn’t anchor Memphis’ win by himself. Dain Dainja provided tons of help too, particularly in a first half that ended with the Tigers trailing 42-36 after giving up 7 points off 9 turnovers. He finished the 20-minute period with his third straight double-double already in tact—10 points and 11 rebounds in just 19 minutes.

Dainja, who totaled 16 points, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal for the game, made his performance even sweeter by out-dueling UAB big man and archrival Yaxel Lendeborg for a second time. The latter managed just 4 points and 3 rebounds on 1-for-7 shooting in the first half, in which he played 12 minutes after committing 3 fouls. Lendeborg (17.3 points and 10.7 rebounds) finished well below his per-game averages with 10 points and 6 boards for the contest.

Hardaway urged Dainja to embrace the feud pregame, rather than shy away from it. The seventh-year headman wanted Dainja to remember the distain he felt when AAC coaches named Lendeborg the league’s Preseason Player of the Year instead of him or Haggerty, when those same coaches picked Lendeborg’s Blazers to win the league over Memphis or when Lendeborg called out Dainja on social media after last month’s meeting at FedExForum (a 100-77 victory for the Tigers).

Dainja did just that at the 10:12 mark in the first half, when he beat Lendeborg for an offensive rebound, jammed it right over him and stared him down as both migrated back to the other end of the floor. That created a war of explicit words between the two that resulted in UAB coach Andy Kennedy subbing Lendeborg out of the game. Hardaway knew then he pushed the right buttons.

“I turned him all the way up—as high as I could turn him. I turned the heat up, because I knew Yaxel was gonna bring it. I knew he was gonna be so emotional behind the words in Memphis. So, you have to match that energy,” Hardaway, who the Tigers doused in water postgame, said. “I just said, ‘Hey, you know he’s coming at you. He’s coming at you from the jump.’”

Dainja poorly hid his laughter during his postgame chat with reporters Sunday—minutes after mocking Lendeborg on social media yet again.

“And I’ma see you again,” he wrote on X, mimicking a similar post Lendeborg made after Memphis’ first game against UAB.

“All that talking for nun,” he later wrote on Instagram.

But the 6-foot-9 center straightened his face long enough at the podium.

“Just glad we got the dub,” Dainja said, still with hints of a chuckle.

No. 18 Memphis (24-5, 14-2 AAC) visits UTSA on Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN+).