University of Memphis
3-3
Bradley
3-5
Tigers Slam Braves
Dec 06, 2014 | Men's Basketball
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VIDEOS:Coach Pastner Post-Game Press Conference
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Tigers used some early dunks to electrify the crowd, grab the momentum and get a 73-45 win against Bradley on Saturday night at FedExForum.
The Tigers moved to 3-3 and finished with eight dunks, all in the first half, and only eight turnovers. Bradley dropped to 3-5 with the loss and turned the ball over 19 times, which resulted in 29 points for the Tigers.
The 27.1 percent (13-48) the Tigers held Bradley to was the lowest by a Memphis opponent this season. The Braves' 45 points was the fewest Memphis has allowed since Feb. 11 2012, when the Tigers also held UAB to 45.
Junior Forward Shaq Goodwin grabbed a double-double. He led all players in both points and rebounds with 15 and 12 respectively. Avery Woodson and Nick King added 11 points each.
After the two teams traded a few missed shots in the opening minutes, which included three Bradley blocks, Austin Nichols fed Goodwin for the dunk to get the scoring started. On the other end, Nichols blocked a shot and Goodwin grabbed the rebound. This time it was his turn for the assist as he found Markel Crawford streaking down the court for the second dunk of the evening and the fourth point.
Bradley would fight back to take a 5-4 lead with 15:42 remaining in the first half, but it would be short-lived as 21 seconds later Calvin Godfrey put the Tigers back ahead with a pair of free throws.
The Tigers used a 10-3 run, capped by an Avery Woodson steak and Nick King dunk on the other end, to take a 16-8 lead at the 8:58 mark. But King's most exhilarating play came three minutes later. It seemed Kuran Iverson was trapped on the baseline with a double team and would be forced to either turn it over or call timeout. Instead, he found a cutting King who dunked over a Bradley defender, which got the crowd and the Tiger bench on their feet. It also gave the Tigers another eight point lead.
Pookie Powell stole the ball on the ensuing Braves possession and took it himself for the finish on the other end to give the Tigers a double digit lead. The UofM would stretch the lead to 16 before heading in for the break leading 34-20.
The Tigers shot 43.3 percent (13-20) in the first half, while the defense kept Bradley at a low 26.1 percent (6-23). While the Tigers were finishing well at the rim, they were unable to find their rhythm beyond the arc in the first half, hitting none of their five attempts. Bradley attempted nine, but hit only one.
Neither team scored in the opening 2:30 of the second half, and then the Braves went on an 11-3 run to cut the lead to 37-31 to cut the lead to six.
That's when Trahson Burrell hit the first three pointer of the night to put the lead back to nine. Where the Tigers used dunks to gain momentum in the first half, they used the long ball to put the Braves away in the second. After failing to hit any in the opening 20 minutes, Memphis knocked down six three pointers in the second. Woodson knocked down three of them himself.
By the under 8:00 media timeout, the Memphis lead was back to 13 and would never get lower than that. The largest lead came with 1:04 remaining at 30 points.
The Tigers have a week off for finals before welcoming Oklahoma State to FedExForum for a Saturday evening game. The teams split the series a year ago.
