University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UCF
Tigers Collect Eighth-Straight Win
Jan 28, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2006
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The wakeup call apparently didn't come until No. 3 Memphis got behind.
The Tigers seemed a little groggy for the noon start before shaking off the cobwebs and running away for a 94-61 victory over Central Florida on Saturday.
"I barely wanted to be here," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "... We've got to be able to check a minute into the game who's into this energy. Who is into what we are doing."
Rodney Carney was 5-of-6 from 3-point range and scored 26 points to lead the Tigers to their eighth straight victory.
Carney, who had eight points in a 59-second span, provided an early offensive spark for Memphis (19-2, 5-0 Conference USA) after the lackluster start.
Shawne Williams finished with 16 points for Memphis, which shot 51 percent from the field, while Waki Williams had 15 and Antonio Anderson, who entered the game averaging 5.0 points over the last six games, added 14.
"The biggest thing I told (Anderson) is that he can't get caught up in the shooting and scoring," Calipari said. "He got tentative last week because he missed some shots. We don't need (him) to make shots. We need (him) to do the energy stuff."
Mike O'Donnell and Dave Noel each had 10 points for Central Florida (9-9, 3-2) with Noel missing only one of five shots from the field. The Golden Knights' leading scorers - Justin Rose and Josh Peppers - were held to four and nine points, respectively, and were a combined 5-of-18 from the field. Anthony Williams, who averages just under 10 points, was held to five because of foul problems, including part of a double-technical in the first half.
"They are an unbelievable team. Very fast, very athletic," O'Donnell said. "But it shouldn't have been that score. We need a heart check. That was a little embarrassing."
Memphis, which led by 12 points at halftime, went up 61-39 with 12:35 remaining when Waki Williams scored on a reverse layup. The run was made with most of the Memphis starters on the bench.
Whatever energy UCF had to that point seemed to dissipate. The Tigers extended the lead to as many as 34 points in the final 6 minutes.
"We did some good things, but let it slip away from us towards the end of the first half," UCF coach Kirk Speraw said. "We still were only down 12 points. We came out in the second half with no life and our defense broke down."
Early, Memphis wasn't playing with the intensity Calipari wanted. Defenders let the Golden Knights drive to the basket on occasions and UCF had uncontested 3-pointers in the early minutes.
"We came out real lazy," Anderson said. "Coach didn't like that. He came in at halftime, and just blasted us."
Carney kept things moving for Memphis with 11 first-half points, including making all three of his 3-pointers, while Shawne Williams added 10.
UCF took the lead midway through the period after a 3-pointer by Peppers and extended it to 22-19 on a tip-in by Lavell Payne.
That seemed to get the Tigers' attention, and the intensity increased. Memphis recorded a 9-0 run as UCF went almost 5 minutes without scoring.
That help provide Memphis with the 42-30 halftime lead, its biggest of the first half.
In the second half, the Tigers shot 53 percent while pulling away.
"A big problem that has been with us all year long, really reared its head today," Speraw said. "And that is, the last 15 minutes of the game got away from us."
