University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Arkansas State
No. 24 Tigers Quell Indians, 79-75
Nov 23, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2004
Box Score | Quotes
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - John Calipari thinks Memphis is relying too much on individual play.
Sean Banks scored 28 of his career-high 31 points in the second half Tuesday night, leading No. 25 Memphis to a 79-75 victory over Arkansas State.
But it wasn't the type of cohesive performance the Memphis coach wanted.
"It's team now," Calipari said. "We took our own shots. We took seven or eight bad shots in a row. ...We've got to do this as a team. We're not close to that right now."
Banks, who missed all four of his first-half shots, was 9-of-11 after halftime for the Tigers (4-1). He also grabbed 10 rebounds.
"We didn't play bad or anything," Banks said. "They were a good team. We are going to have to understand teams are going to be ready to play us."
Arkansas State (1-1) refused to wilt, keeping the game close and thwarting the Tigers' attempts to pull away in the second half. The Indians pulled to 52-51 midway through the second half but couldn't take the lead.
"I am disappointed we did not pull that game out," Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt said. "I told our guys, 'don't be satisfied with playing decent at times.' There was a 10-minute stretch in the second half where we fell apart defensively."
Anthony Rice scored 15 for Memphis and Rodney Carney finished with 14, though he shot only 6-of-21. The Tigers shot 39 percent.
Dewarick Spencer led Arkansas State with 18 points, and J.J. Montgomery scored 17. Isaac Wells finished with 12. Kitus Witherspoon grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Indians to a 45-40 advantage.
Calipari said at times his big men, including Banks, were tipping the ball instead of grabbing rebounds. He benched Banks briefly in the lackluster first half.
"If you have to tip the ball against Arkansas State, against a 6-5 guy, how are you going to rebound in the games we've got to play?" Calipari said.
Calipari said escaping with Tuesday night's victory should send a wakeup call to his team, which faces No. 13 Maryland, Purdue and No. 16 Pittsburgh on the road.
