University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
-207, 102 CUSA
SMU
-1214, 57 CUSA
Tigers Top Mustangs, 76-63
Feb 20, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2010
Final Stats | Quotes
By Joshua Wilkins Graduate Assistant
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis hadn't been swept in a home-and-home conference regular season series since the 2000-2001 season.
A rainstorm of 3-pointers that tied the program's second best output ever (15) drowned SMU's chances of ending that streak 76-63 at FedExForum.
The win gave Memphis its 10th straight 20-win season (20-7 overall this year) and 12th straight season with 10 or more conference victories (10-2 so far this year).
Memphis was 15-30 from beyond the arc. Three Tigers (Elliot Williams, Willie Kemp, Roburt Sallie) made three 3-pointers, while Wesley Witherspoon and Doneal Mack both made two, and Drew Barham and Angel Garcia both hit one.
"We made our threes, but I told our team after the game we can't keep living by that," Memphis Coach Josh Pastner said. "That's great that we're making shots, but we've got to defend better."
Nine of Memphis' 3-pointers came in the first half. Four Tigers hit at least two in the half with Williams sinking three and Kemp, Witherspoon, and Mack all hitting two.
"Memphis really shot the ball extremely well, and some of that was our fault," SMU Coach Matt Doherty said.
Williams led Memphis in scoring with 16 points. Witherspoon had 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and a career-high six assists. Sallie also had 15 points, and Kemp scored eight.
Five Tiger 3-pointers in the first five minutes, two by both Mack and Witherspoon and one from Kemp, helped the U of M jump out to a 17-4 lead.
A brief 8-2 SMU run was halted by a steal and a transition bucket from Drew Barham. The Tigers extended that run to 12-2 after buckets from Roburt Sallie and Will Coleman and two 3-pointers from Elliot Williams making the lead 31-14.
SMU took advantage of Memphis' interior success reeling off three straight scores in the paint at one point and eventually cut the lead all the way down to 31-28 before Kemp connected from three-point range to stop the bleeding. Two Williams free throws and a Witherspoon dunk pushed the Tiger lead back to 10 (38-28).
Mustang senior Mouhammad Faye would sink a free throw and teammates Justin Haynes would hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the Tiger lead back to six. With 27 seconds left in the first half, Williams hit his third trey and turned it into a four-point play for a 42-32 lead at the break.
In the first half, Memphis led SMU in points off of turnovers 9-0, and the would finish the game with a 21-7 lead in the area.
Coleman started the Tiger scoring in the second half with a lay-up. After SMU's Rodney Clinkscales netted a three, Sallie hit Memphis' 10th 3-pointer of the game and added a two pushing the lead to 14 (49-35).
Barham became the sixth Tiger of the game to make a 3-pointer, and Sallie added his second pushing the Memphis lead to 20 (55-35). Then Angel Garcia connected on a 3-pointer from the wing making him the seventh Tiger to hit from long range, giving Memphis a season-high 13 to that point.
Robert Nyakundi paused the Memphis barrage with two 3-pointers of his own for SMU. Mike Walker added another Mustang three cutting the Tiger lead to 59-44 and causing a timeout by Pastner.
SMU twice cut the Tiger lead to 10 before Kemp's third three (Memphis' 14th) put the margin back at 64-51.With 4:27 to play, SMU's Papa Dia cut the deficit to nine with a pair of free throws, Faye would know down another free throw at 3:11 to make the score 66-58.
Witherspoon countered with two free throws at 3:10 again making the margin double figures at 68-58. Then Sallie added two free throws and his third 3-pointer (Memphis' 15th) with 1:53 to play.
SMU never got close again as Mustang Derek Williams' lay-up closed out the scoring 76-63.
"Hey, it's a win," Pastner said. "We got the win. We stepped up offensively. Again, we've got to be better defensively, and that's the bottom line."
The Tigers, still one game behind UTEP for first place in C-USA, return to action at Houston Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Central Standard Time. The Tigers defeated Houston at FedExForum 92-77 on Jan. 23. The game will be broadcast via radio on AM 600 WREC.
