University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
-145, 41 CUSA
Houston
-109, 33 CUSA
Tigers Tame Cougars, 92-77
Jan 23, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2010
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Preston McClellan, Undergraduate Intern
MEMPHIS, Tenn.--Roburt Sallie and Wesley Witherspoon each scored 20 points as the University of Memphis (14-5; 4-1 C-USA) knocked off the Houston Cougars (10-9; 3-3 C-USA) 92-77 Saturday night at FedExForum.
This is the first time since the November 24 Tennessee Tech game that two Tigers have scored 20 or more in the same outing.
Witherspoon has now tallied double figures in nine of the last 11 games. Sallie’s 20 points tie a season high set against Houston Baptist.
Doneal Mack added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with a career-high-tying five assists. Willie Kemp chipped in an efficient 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Elliot Williams was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field, scoring 10 points in limited action. Williams was forced to miss most of the second half after picking up his fourth less than five minutes into the half.
The Tigers got off to a quick start and led 11-3 just three minutes into the game thanks to Wesley Witherspoon’s eight early points. Memphis would extend its lead to as many as 10, leading 23-13 after Witherspoon converted a layup with 9:43 remaining.
A series of bad shots and lackadaisical defense, however, let the Cougars crawl back into the game. An old fashioned three-point play by Kendrick Washington and a layup by Aubrey Coleman put Houston ahead 34-31 with two minutes left in the half.
Willie Kemp would then drain a three on Memphis’ next possession to tie the score at 34. The two teams then traded buckets and went into halftime tied at 39.
“I was really fired up at halftime,” said Memphis head coach Josh Pastner. “I was disappointed in how we were so far up and we couldn’t get stops at some times we really needed some stops.”
Memphis came out on a tear in the second half, using a 13-2 run to extend the lead to 52-41 with 16:14 remaining. Houston would never cut the deficit to fewer than 10 for the remainder of the game.
“We adjusted in the second half, and tried to double behind some ball screens for (Aubrey) Coleman,” said Pastner. “I was really proud of our defense because they only average eight turnovers per game, and we forced 16.”
Aubrey Coleman led all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting in 36 minutes. Coleman, who leads the nation in scoring, has now scored 30 or more in four games this season.
Kendrick Washington (11) and Maurice McNeil (10) were the only other Cougars in double figures.
The Tigers forced the Cougars into a season high tying 16 turnovers, converting them into 21 points.
While the Tigers’ “D” was strong, their offense was equally as impressive. Memphis shot a season high 61.2 percent on 30-of-49 shooting. Memphis also connected on 9-of-16 trifectas, good for 56.3 percent.
Memphis now begins a new C-USA streak just as the last one began. When Memphis lost to UAB on Mar. 2, 2006, it beat Houston in its next outing to begin the record-tying 64 straight C-USA wins.
