RECAP: No. 19 Memphis defeats Austin Peay despite poor first half.

Memphis basketball had another subpar performance against an inferior opponent Saturday night.

But the Tigers (11-2) still finished 2023 with an 81-70 victory over Austin Peay (7-8) inside FedExForum. No. 19 Memphis has officially finished its daunting non-conference slate, and will now turn its focus towards American Athletic Conference play. Penny Hardaway’s team begins the second half of its season Thursday night at Tulsa (7 p.m., ESPN+).

Memphis shot 41% from the field and 22% from 3-point range against the Governors. The Tigers also finished the game with four double-digit scorers, won the rebounding battle 48-39 and forced 10 turnovers. They scored 14 points off said turnovers while nabbing 15 offensive rebounds, 6 blocks, 6 steals and 13 assists.

Austin Peay, meanwhile, shot 36% from the field and 31% from the perimeter. The Governors also forced 13 turnovers and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds despite starting just one player over 6-foot-4 (Daniel Loos). Additionally, they finished their eighth loss of the season with 18 assists, 12 steals and 7 blocks. Guard Dezi Jones led Austin Peay with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ final outing before the new year.

Nae’Qwan Tomlin makes a bigger impact.

Tomlin made a good first impression overall in his Memphis debut against Vanderbilt last Saturday, playing 15 minutes while stacking up 8 points and 3 rebounds. He even made a 3-pointer just four seconds after checking into the game in the first half.

He began his day versus Austin Peay in a similar manner, except he banked in his first field goal attempt of the evening from beyond the arc. Tomlin went on to lead the Tigers in scoring in the first half, finishing the period with 9 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 3-of-5 from the field. The 6-foot-10 center also blocked a shot and made two free throws in his 12 first half minutes. He played just 15 for the entire game against Vanderbilt, for reference.

Nae'Qwan with a late-night deposit at the bank 💦 pic.twitter.com/QABdWGw7Ui

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) December 31, 2023

Tomlin scored 6 more points and had an absurd 10 rebounds in the second half. The 23-year-old was an interior force both offensively and defensively against Austin Peay, finishing the evening with 15 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks in 23 minutes.

Memphis underwhelms in the first half.

The Tigers seemed destined for a blowout win—for just over a minute.

Malcolm Dandridge started the game with a resounding slam, and Nick Jourdain followed that up with a basket and a foul to make the score 5-0 with 19:13 left in the first half. Memphis quickly found itself in a dog fight after that, however.

Both the Tigers and Governors shot poorly from the field in the game’s first 20 minutes. Memphis made just 37% of its field goal attempts, while Austin Peay finished the half with a 41% clip. The U of M hit 13 free throws compared to none for APSU, but the Governors stayed in the game by shooting 6-of-18 from 3-point range. The Tigers hit just 2 long bombs in the game’s first 20 minutes.

The aforementioned Tomlin led Memphis with 9 points and 5 rebounds, but David Jones finished the half with 8 points and 4 boards. Jahvon Quinerly scored 6 first half points, and Malcolm Dandridge compiled 7 points and 3 rebounds during the period. The Tigers turned the ball over 7 times and led the rebounding battle 24-18 by halftime.

Tigers—at long last—run away with it down the stretch

Memphis picked up right where it left off after halftime—more poor basketball and sloppy offensive play.

The Tigers and Governors continued to go back-and-forth throughout the first eight minutes of the second half. Memphis continued to clank shots off the rim and have numerous empty possessions, while Austin Peay kept burning the Tigers from the perimeter. Corey Gipson’s team even took the advantage twice in the first 5:35 of the period, and Memphis led APU 54-49 with 11:59 left to play.

That’s when the Tigers had finally seen enough. Quinerly got the party started with one of his signature driving layups. Tomlin converted a putback layup. Jayhlon Young knocked down an open 3-pointer. Jourdain hammered in an alley-oop slam, and Jones finished the 16-4 run with 5 straight points.

The Tigers led 69-53 with 7:30 to play at that point, and never really lost control again after that. A late push from Austin Peay made things a bit more interesting in the final moments, but the Governors didn’t even get close to pulling off a comeback.

Jones led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 5-of-14 from the field. Jourdain had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Quinerly finished with 11 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting.