Memphis basketball got the better of PJ Haggerty’s former team Wednesday night.
The Tigers (19-4, 9-1 AAC) knocked off the Golden Hurricane 83-71 inside FedExForum. Memphis—No. 17 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25—has now won its last six games. Penny Hardaway’s club next hopes to avenge last month’s loss at Temple when it hosts the Owls on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN2).
Memphis shot 57% overall and 43% on 3-pointers. It also recorded 20 assists, 16 forced turnovers, 11 offensive rebounds, 10 steals and 6 blocks. The Tigers led the Golden Hurricane for 35 minutes and 35 seconds. Moussa Cisse exited with a left knee injury in the second half, but ultimately returned later in the period.
Eric Konkol’s team (9-14, 3-7 AAC) shot 54% on field goals and 42% from the perimeter. It also outrebounded Memphis 29-27 while compiling 12 assists, 11 offensive boards, 8 forced turnovers, 6 steals and a block. Tyshawn Archie (17), Dwon Odom (11), Isaiah Barnes (11) and Jared Garcia (11) scored double-figure points for the Golden Hurricane.
Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ fourth Quad 4 victory this season.
Soft paint defense keeps Tulsa alive
Memphis did little to resist Tulsa’s interior offense in the opening period.
The Golden Hurricane scored 24 of their 34 first-half points in the paint. They also shot 54% from the field in the first half, but that goes up to 57.1% if one only counts its 2-point attempts. Tulsa even took the lead on two separate occasions before halftime, but 10 turnovers kept Memphis in control.
The Tigers took a 37-29 lead—its largest of the half—at the 1:41 mark after a Cisse dunk and back-to-back trifectas by PJ Carter. They ultimately held a 39-34 advantage at intermission.
Nick Jourdain gets benched in first half
Jourdain had perhaps his poorest hour (eight minutes) in the first half.
The 6-foot-7 forward first air-balled the front end of a one-and-one. He then missed the rim again on a 3-point try less than two minutes later, and followed that up with poor defensive sequence that saw him give up a dunk and a foul to Tulsa’s Isaiah Barnes. He didn’t see the floor again for the final six minutes of the period.
Jourdain bounced back in his 11 second-half minutes, however, with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 points. Three of his boards came on the offensive glass.
Haggerty, 3-point shooting explodes in second half
Haggerty transferred to Memphis from Tulsa last April, and dealt the Golden Hurricane additional scars Wednesday night.
The 6-foot-3 guard scored a game-high 23 points (15 in the second half) to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 3-for-5 at the 3-point line. All three of his perimeter makes occurred in the second half.
Haggerty led the way in a 44-37 final period that saw Memphis lead by as many as 19 points and shoot 60% (6-of-10) from beyond the arc. Tyrese Hunter hit two, while Colby Rogers drilled one. All six of the Tigers’ 3-pointers happened over a five-minute, 20-second stretch. Hunter and Rogers combined for 19 points.
Dain Dainja torched the Golden Hurricane too with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals. He scored 13 in the second half.