University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
SMU
No. 5 Memphis Overwhelms SMU, 73-53
Jan 14, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Joey Dorsey scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds and No. 5 Memphis got off to a strong start in a 73-53 win over SMU on Saturday night.
Memphis (15-2, 2-0 Conference USA) opened the game with an 18-2 run over the first nine minutes and never let the advantage get under 10 the rest of the way. The Tigers won their fourth straight since losing to No. 8 Texas 69-58 on Jan. 2.
It was the worst loss of the season for SMU (7-7, 0-2), which dropped its third consecutive game.
Rodney Carney led the Tigers with 15 points, connecting on 6-of-9 from the field, and Memphis shot 51 percent. Dorsey hit five of seven shots, and Darius Washington added 13 points and four assists.
Bryan Hopkins went 7-of-12 from the field and finished with 19 points for the Mustangs, who shot 37 percent and committed 15 turnovers.
After SMU scored the game's first basket, Memphis reeled off 18 straight points. During the run, the Mustangs missed 10 straight shots and went almost nine minutes without scoring. SMU also had six early turnovers.
Shawne Williams hit two 3-pointers as Memphis grabbed a 21-4 lead.
The Mustangs whittled the Tigers lead to 10 with six minutes left in the half, but Memphis carried a 33-22 lead into the break.
Hopkins led SMU with 10 points in the first half.
The Mustangs tried to battle back in the second half but they couldn't whittle the lead down to single digits. Washington connected on a 3-pointer with about 8 minutes left to give the Tigers a 54-37 lead.
