RECAP: Memphis basketball grinds out convincing win over Charlotte

The Tigers showed resolve on Wednesday night, and they were rewarded with victory.

Memphis (19-8, 8-6 AAC) defeated Charlotte 76-52 in its return to FedExForum. It can now move up to 6th-place in the American Athletic Conference if UTSA beats North Texas on Saturday.

With an at-large bid now out of the question, the only way Penny Hardaway’s team can make this year’s NCAA Tournament is by winning next month’s AAC tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. And it must finish at least No. 4 in the league to earn a double-bye to the conference tournament’s quarterfinals and avoid having to win four games in four days inside Dickies Arena.

The U of M shot 50% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. It also outrebounded Charlotte 38-20 while racking up 13 steals, 12 forced turnovers, 19 points off turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks. Memphis led the contest for 32 minutes and 12 seconds, and finished the game with a 13-2 run in the final 6:07 and a 10-0 run in the final 3:52.

Charlotte (17-9, 11-3 AAC) made 43% of its field goal attempts and 29% of its 3-point tries, though it shot just 32% in the second half. The 49ers also put up 12 forced turnovers, 12 assists, 4 steals and 4 offensive rebounds. Igor Milicic Jr. (16), Robert Braswell (13) and Dishon Jackson (10) all scored double-digit points, but leading scorer Lu’Cye Patterson scored zero after picking up four personal fouls in 16 minutes.

Memphis’ next matchup is a big one—maybe even the big one. Dusty May’s Florida Atlantic Owls will finally make their long-awaited visit to FedExForum on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN). FAU, of course, eliminated the Tigers in last year’s Big Dance on its way to the Final Four. The U of M gets its chance at a little payback this weekend.

Here are some takeaways from the Tigers’ win over Charlotte.

Memphis fought from the opening tip.

You could sense the energy was a little different on Wednesday.

Memphis—while it wasn’t perfect—played determined rather than dejected, and it made all the difference. The Tigers started the game on a 6-2 run. Charlotte, however, quickly responded with a 7-0 run of its own.

But instead of laying down and dying like it did at SMU, Memphis matched the 49ers’ energy. It retook the lead at the 14:13 mark in the first half with a Nick Jourdain slam, which came on a possession where every Tiger touched the ball. Aaron Fearne’s team then knocked down its next five field goals to gain a 22-17 advantage. Hardaway’s club still didn’t go away, though.

It instead used a 7-2 run to move back in front with 7:45 left until halftime, and never lost the lead for the rest of the night. Memphis took a 40-35 advantage into the locker room, and opened the second half on a 6-0 run that more or less put the 49ers to bed. The Tigers ultimately outscored Charlotte 36-17 in the final period.

The best part for Memphis is it did this while mainly using just six players: Jourdain (21 minutes), David Jones (23 minutes), Jahvon Quinerly (30 minutes), Nae’Qwan Tomlin (33 minutes), Malcolm Dandridge (24 minutes) and Jaykwon Walton (30 minutes). Walk-on guard Joe Cooper also put up 3 points and 3 rebounds in nine second-half minutes.

Memphis controls the glass.

The Tigers bullied the 49ers in the paint throughout the contest.

They outrebounded Charlotte 17-9 in the first half, including 9 offensive rebounds. Tomlin finished the half with 2 offensive boards, and 3 total rebounds. Dandridge had 4 rebounds in the half, while both Jones and Walton went into the locker room with 3. The Tigers also scored 16 points in the paint in the game’s first 20 minutes.

Memphis again won the rebounding battle in the second half 21-11. The Tigers also racked up 6 more offensive boards and 16 more points in the paint during the period. Tomlin and Dandridge combined for 5 offensive rebounds in the second half and the team finished with 14 for the game.

Jones and Tomlin lead the charge.

Memphis’ two best players came to play against Charlotte.

Jones exploded for 10 points and a steal in the first half on 3-for-6 shooting—though he missed most of the second half with an eye injury—and Tomlin finished the period with 6 points 4 of 4 free throw clip. The Kansas State transfer, however, truly made his mark in the second half.

He scored 10 points in the game’s final 20 minutes while shooting 3-for-4 from the field and 1 of 2 from 3-point range. Tomlin finished the game with 16 points and a block on 4-for-7 shooting.

Quinerly, however, had a game-high 17 points after exploding late in the second half. The 6-foot-1 guard shot 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc throughout the contest. He also compiled 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds before the final buzzer.