RECAP: Haggerty and Dainja lift No. 18 Memphis to victory at UAB

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Memphis basketball maintained control of first place in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) by the skin of its teeth Sunday.

The No. 18 Tigers (24-5, 14-2 AAC) notched their second win over UAB 88-81 inside Bartow Arena. The Blazers (19-11, 10-4 AAC) ranked No. 107 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) before tipoff, giving Memphis its 11th combined win in Quads 1 and 2 (fifth in Quad 2). Memphis now moves two games ahead of UAB, but still has a one-game edge on North Texas.

Penny Hardaway’s club next visits UTSA on Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN+).

Memphis shot 53% overall and 29% on 3-pointers. It also outrebounded UAB 44-32 while recording 15 offensive boards, 11 assists, 10 forced turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks. The Tigers scored 21 second-chance points, and won the game despite trailing for 25 minutes and 57 seconds.

Andy Kennedy’s team shot 46% on field goals and 35% from the 3-point line. It also compiled 17 assists, 13 forced turnovers, 10 offensive rebounds, 10 steals and 3 blocks. Ja’Borri McGhee (22), Christian Coleman (14), Bradley Ezewiro (12) and Yaxel Lendeborg (10) scored double-figure points for UAB.

Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ third straight win.

Dain Dainja dominates Blazers again

The 6-foot-9 center torched UAB during last month’s meeting in Memphis, and Sunday’s rematch saw him do more of the same.

Dainja only needed 20 minutes to record a double-double, finishing the first half with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks on 5-for-9 shooting. That’s his third double-double in a row and sixth overall this season.

The Tigers still trailed at halftime 42-36, however, after the Blazers overcame a 1-for-9 start to shoot 50% for the rest of the period. Memphis also allowed 7 points off 9 turnovers before intermission.

Dainja got the better of his archrival Lendeborg once again. 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. Both he and Dainja missed much of the second half with 4 fouls each.

Colby Rogers finds his groove

Rogers scored 4 points on 11.1% shooting against Rice on Wednesday, but the 6-foot-3 sharpshooter bounced back against the Blazers.

He scored 21 crucial points in 34 minutes Sunday, including 11 on 3-for-5 perimeter shooting in the first half. That’s the most points he’s scored in AAC play this season, and second time in three games scoring at least 15.

Rogers—Memphis’ only player to hit a 3-pointer—shot 7-of-13 overall for the game while also tallying 2 assists, a rebound and a steal. Memphis was plus-7 with him on the floor.

PJ Haggerty takes over Bartow

The Tigers’ leading scorer gave them the boost they needed in the second half.

UAB increased its lead up to as many as 9 points with 12 minutes to play, but Haggerty scored 13 points in the next six minutes to give Memphis a 73-69 cushion. Memphis then unleashed a 15-7 lead over the following five minutes and 20 seconds to claim a 12-point advantage with 40 seconds remaining.

Haggerty finished with a game-high 25 points (17 in the second half) to go with 4 assists, 2 rebounds and a steal on 9-for-16 shooting. Dainja totaled 16 points and 17 rebounds. Tyrese Hunter had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal with a 50% clip.

Memphis outscored UAB 52-39 in the second half on 66.7% shooting.