University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
USF
Tigers In The Mood At Right Time
Mar 08, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2000
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Marcus Moody's 15-foot jumper with 10 seconds left gave Memphis a 60-58 come-from-behind victory over South Florida Wednesday night in the opening round of the Conference USA tournament.
Moody's jumper gave Memphis (15-15), the tournament's No. 11 seed, a 59-58 lead, its only lead of the second half. Keiron Shine hit a free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining.
South Florida (17-13) had a chance to win the game at the horn, but Altron Jackson's desperation 25-footer hit the back of the rim.
Kelly Wise led Memphis with 13 points and Courtney Trask added 10 as the Tigers, who trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half, won their sixth straight game.
South Florida was led by B.B. Waldon's 22 points and 14 rebounds. Jackson finished with 13, while Reggie Kohn had 12 points.
Memphis faces No. 3 seed DePaul in Thursday's quarterfinals.
Memphis trailed 36-27 at the half, and the Bulls took an 11-point lead on Jackson's drive to open the second period.
The Bulls, the No. 6 seed, led 54-44 with 8:21 remaining when Jackson hit a pair of free throws. South Florida would only hit two field goals, both by Waldon, the rest of the way.
"I think our guys just stepped up defensively," Memphis coach Johnny Jones said of the last eight minutes. "We have been doing a tremendous job defensively over the last few games.
"Defensively, we just tightened up the screws a little bit."
Little-by-little Memphis cut into the South Florida lead. Shine and Moody had 3-pointers and Shannon Forman had 3 points in an 11-2 run after South Florida held a 10-point advantage.
Trask cut the South Florida lead to 58-57 on a layup with three minutes left to set the stage for Moody's shot.
