University of Memphis
2-3
Stephen F. Austin
4-3
Tigers Basketball Falls to Stephen F. Austin
Dec 02, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Joe Murphy Photo Gallery 
Box Score (PDF) 
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis struggled to score points down the stretch as the Tigers fell in their return home 64-52 to Stephen F. Austin at FedExForum on Tuesday night.
The Lumberjacks (4-3) used a 21-8 run in the final 9:20 to take the lead and then pull away from the Tigers. Memphis (2-3) managed just three field goals during that time period, an Austin Nichols jumper with 5:19 to play, a Nichols layup with 3:54 remaining to cut the lead to nine and a Markel Crawford layup on the last play of the game.
Nichols led all scorers on the evening with 16. He added five rebounds and a trio of blocks. Shaq Goodwin was right behind him with 15 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks and assists. Trahson Burrell rounded out the Tigers scoring in double figures with 10 of his own. Crawford and Avery Woodson were the only other Tigers to score.
Three Lumberjacks scored in double digits, led by Clide Geffrard with 14. Jacob Parker and Ty Charles dropped 13 and 10 respectively.
It was a tight affair throughout the first half. The largest lead belonged to SFA, who held a four-point lead with 11:31 remaining in the half.
Crawford came out and got the crowd on its feet early with a dunk to open the scoring. Stephen F. Austin would respond quickly with a Thomas Walkup jumper on its next possession. That would set the tone for the first half, which would go back and forth. As the teams went in for the break, the score was tied at 27.
Both teams knocked down 11 field goals in the first half. Memphis shot 44 percent while holding SFA to 36.7 percent. The Lumberjacks put up 13 threes, almost half their total field goal attempts, knocking down four, while Memphis was 1-5.
The second half started with a few missed attempts for both teams before Parker knocked down Stephen F. Austin's fifth three-pointer on the evening, making it 30-27.
Memphis would tie it a couple of times before a free throw from Burrell put the Tigers in the lead 34-33 with a little more than 15 minutes remaining.
The Tigers would stretch that lead out to three multiple times over the next 10 minutes, but were unable to get it any further, as each time Stephen F. Austin would answer.
The Lumberjacks took the lead back for good with a Tanner Clayton jumper with 8:44 to go. Memphis turned it over on the next possession, which resulted in a foul and-one. Memphis would miss their next two shots, including a dunk attempt, and both times SFA came down the court and knocked down a three. What was a close game was now an 11-point deficit for the Tigers with 6:48 remaining.
Goodwin would get it down to eight by going one of two from the line with 2:29 remaining, but that was as close as it would get.
The Tigers finished shooting 38.9 percent (21-54), while SFA hit 41.8 percent (23-55) of their shots. Memphis was 1-13 from beyond the arc, while Stephen F. Austin knocked down seven of its 20 attempts.
The Tiger bench was outscored 32-10, while the Tigers controlled the paint with a 38-26 advantage. The UofM turned the ball over 16 times, which resulted in 13 points for the Lumberjacks, while the Tigers converted 13 SFA turnovers into four points.
The Tigers return to action at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday as they welcome Bradley to FedExForum for a late-night showdown on ESPNU.
