University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
New Mexico
Memphis Moves Ahead To NIT Final Four
Mar 22, 2001 | Men's Basketball
March 22, 2001
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Kelly Wise and Earl Barron each scored 16 points as Memphis used a strong inside game to beat New Mexico 81-63 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
Memphis (20-14) will face Tulsa, a 77-75 winner over Mississippi State, in the tournament semifinals Tuesday in New York.
Marcus Moody scored 12 points for the Tigers. Shannon Forman and reserve Shamel Jones each added 10.
Wise finished with 14 rebounds and Barron had 12 as Memphis outrebounded the Lobos 49-32.
Eric Chatfield led New Mexico (21-13) with 17 points. Ruben Douglas scored 16.
Wise's inside play helped Memphis to an early seven-point lead. The Tigers built their lead to 10 points three times in the first half before settling for a 39-30 advantage at the break.
Memphis went on a 12-3 run early in the second half and extended a nine-point lead to 51-33 with 16:27 left. Forman punctuated the run with a putback of a missed free throw.
With Wise sidelined with foul trouble with 12:27 left, the Tigers went inside to Barron, who scored 10 points in a four-minute span and helped Memphis maintain a 14- to 18-point lead.
Memphis built its lead to 22 points twice in the second half and limited the Lobos to 38.7 percent shooting.
