University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Wofford
No. 12 Tigers Rout Wofford, 88-61
Nov 13, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Nov 13, 2001
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Dajuan Wagner had 18 points and four assists in his college debut to lead No. 12 Memphis to an 88-61 victory over Wofford on Tuesday night in the opening round of the inaugural Guardians Classic.
The Tigers will face Old Dominion, a 69-52 winner over Sacramento State, in a second-round game Wednesday night.
Wagner, a heralded freshman who scored 100 points in a high school game, missed his first five shots from the field, but finished 6-of-17. He missed all four of his 3-point attempts.
Scooter McFadgon added 17 points for the Tigers, while Kelly Wise had 14 and Chris Massie 13, all in the first half. Massie and Wise each grabbed 11 rebounds as Memphis controlled the boards 48-24.
Justin Stephens led the Terriers with 19 points, while Mike Lenzly added 12.
Memphis controlled the inside game against the smaller Terriers, working the ball to Massie early then Wise. Meanwhile, Wagner slashed to the basket, hitting a couple of twisting shots in the lane after his early misfires.
The Tigers led 43-29 at halftime behind Massie's inside play. The junior had 13 points and 10 rebounds as Memphis shot 57 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
Wofford struggled against the bigger Tigers' frontline, getting beat on the boards and shooting just 34.4 percent from the field.
The Terriers led for the only time at 14-13 when Kenny Hastie scored on a rebound with 13:42 left in the first half. Memphis answered with a 10-0 run, including five points by Massie.
The Tigers opened the second half with a 20-2 run for a 63-31 lead when Wagner, the son of former Louisville star Milt Wagner, hit two free throws with 13:13 remaining.
Wofford never got closer than 26 points the rest of the way and some of the Terriers' best efforts came after Memphis cleared its bench for the final four minutes.
