RECAP: Dain Dainja boosts No. 24 Memphis to decisive win over UAB

Penny Hardaway’s Tigers made a big statement Sunday afternoon.

No. 24 Memphis (16-4, 6-1 AAC) soundly defeated American Athletic Conference (AAC) preseason favorite UAB 100-77 inside FedExForum. The Tigers now take firm control of first place in the AAC thanks to their tie-breaker over North Texas. Memphis next gets a Quad 3 opportunity at Tulane on Thursday (8 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU).

The Tigers shot 62% overall and 53% on 3-pointers. They also outrebounded UAB 37-33 while racking up 54 points in the paint, 32 points off 16 forced turnovers, 24 assists, 11 steals, 7 offensive boards and 6 blocks. Memphis led the Blazers wire-to-wire.

Andy Kennedy’s team (12-8, 5-2 AAC) shot 38% from the field and beyond the arc. It also earned 13 forced turnovers, 13 assists, 12 offensive rebounds, 10 steals and 3 blocks. UAB trailed by as many as 24 points.

Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ huge victory.

Dain Dainja returns to starting lineup

Dainja rejoined the Tigers’ starting lineup for the first time since Memphis’ game against Ohio on Nov. 15. It turned out to be the right call, as Memphis got out to an uncharacteristically fast start on offense.

The 6-foot-9 center ferociously slammed in his first two points over AAC Preseason Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg—forcing Lendeborg’s face in between his legs in the process—and essentially took over the contest from there. He led Hardaway’s club with 16 points and 5 rebounds on 8-for-10 shooting in the first half. PJ Haggerty, the AAC’s top scorer, chipped in too with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals before halftime.

The Tigers ultimately had their best first half of the season. They shot 56.8% from the field compared to UAB’s 40.6%, and forced 8 turnovers whilst limiting themselves to 3. Memphis led 52-39 at intermission. That’s the most points it’s scored in a half this year.

Tigers hold Lendeborg in check

Lendeborg, a 6-foot-9 forward, does it all for the Blazers with averages of 16.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals. But Memphis largely shut him down on Sunday.

Lendeborg finished the opening period with 8 points on 3-for-9 shooting. He also committed 3 giveaways before halftime. Efrem “Butta” Johnson, however, kept UAB alive with 17 first-half points on 5-for-7 perimeter shooting.

Lendeborg totaled 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while shooting 5-for-15 from the field. Johnson scored 4 points on 1-for-7 shooting in the second half.

PJ Carter has best game as a Tiger

Carter filled the void left by Dainja as Memphis’ top bench scorer.

The 6-foot-4 guard dropped 14 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers to get Memphis to the century mark, in just 13 minutes. Eight of those came in the second half. The Tigers totaled 24 bench points for the game.

Haggerty finished with a game-high 23 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Dainja compiled 21 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out at the 6:21 mark in the second half. Colby Rogers bounced back from his recent struggles with 12 points (4-for-7 shooting), 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Nick Jourdain notched 11 points (4-for-7 shooting), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Moussa Cisse and Tyrese Hunter both added 9 points. Cisse grabbed 8 rebounds too, while Hunter distributed 4 assists.

Every Tiger had a positive plus-minus score.