Memphis basketball, despite some bumps along the way, took care of business.
The Tigers (3-0) comfortably beat Ohio 94-70 inside FedExForum Friday night. This is Memphis’ final home game of November, as it turns its attention to a four-game road trip featuring a matchup against San Francisco at the Chase Center and three outings in the Maui Invitational (including one against back-to-back national champion UConn).
Memphis shot 56% from the field and 72% from 3-point range. The Tigers also outrebounded Ohio 35-32 while recording 19 assists, 16 forced turnovers, 13 steals, 6 blocks and 6 offensive boards. Penny Hardaway’s club, which scored 34 points in the paint, led for nearly 38 consecutive minutes.
Jeff Boals’ team (1-3) shot 37% overall and 39% from beyond the arc. Ohio also put up 15 assists, 14 forced turnovers, 10 offensive rebounds, 7 steals and 6 blocks. Bobcats leading scorer Shereef Mitchell missed his second game in a row.
Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ victory.
PJ Haggerty starts, and doesn’t stop
The Tigers’ leading scorer dominated from the opening tip, and he showed off a different side of his game in the process.
Haggerty, who shot just 16.7% from 3-point range against Missouri and UNLV, torched Ohio from deep. The 6-foot-3 guard scored 9 of the Tigers’ first 12 points and drilled his first four tries from beyond the arc.
Haggerty’s strong start helped Memphis take an 18-4 lead at the 12:27 mark in the first half, though that lead shrank to just 5 points by halftime. Haggerty finished the first half with 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Nick Jourdain went to the locker room with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Ohio’s streaky shooting keeps it alive
The Bobcats seemed completely overmatched in the first eight minutes of the contest, but Ajay Sheldon saved the day off the bench.
Sheldon—with his team trailing by 14—nailed two straight 3-pointers, which trimmed the deficit to 8. Elmore James and AJ Brown joined the party soon after, as the trio hit seven combined deep bombs in a row to make the score 31-27 with 5:17 left in the first half.
Memphis and Ohio shot 67% and 42% respectively from the perimeter in the opening period, but the Tigers’ 11 turnovers kept Boals’ team within striking distance.
Tyrese Hunter steps up in the second half.
It was Hunter’s turn to be Memphis’ closer Friday.
The 6-foot guard scored just 5 points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first half, but he flipped a proverbial switch coming out of the locker room. Hunter put up 16 points while shooting 75% from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the final period. He also finished the contest with 4 steals.
Hunter’s performance helped the Tigers outscore Ohio 51-32 in the second half. Memphis also shot 56.6% overall and 83% from deep in the last 20 minutes.
Haggerty finished with a game-high 23 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Jourdain recorded 15 points, 8 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks.