Cold Shooting Does in Tigers in Loss

Monday, November 23

Memphis, Tenn.

7:30 pm CT

University of Memphis

2-2

UT Arlington

3-1

Texas Arlington

Memphis

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Nov 23, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Ricky Tarrant Jr. scores 21 points, Shaq Goodwin grabs 19 rebounds in loss

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Despite three players with double-figure rebounding totals, and a season-high 21 points from Ricky Tarrant Jr., the Memphis Tigers were unable to overcome a cold start and a poor shooting night throughout in a 68-64 loss to UT Arlington on Monday night at FedExForum.

Tarrant Jr. scored 21 points and hit all 12 of his free throw tries, while Avery Woodson made 3-of-7 from long range for 11 points. Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson each scored eight points, while Trahson Burrell added seven in the losing effort.

Goodwin pulled down 19 rebounds – his second-highest single-game total in his four years with Memphis – while Burrell (12) and Dedric Lawson (10) also pulled down double-figure boards. As a team, the Tigers out-rebounded the Mavericks 53-to-46.

"You have to give UT Arlington credit," said Memphis head coach Josh Pastner. "Coach Cross does a great job. I've known him for a long time and his teams are always really good. They out-toughed us today from the start, and that being said, we've cost ourselves two games with our free-throw shooting. It cost us the Oklahoma game, it cost us this game with the amount of free throws that we missed."

Both teams struggled offensively to start the game, as the Tigers hit on just one of their first 15 shot attempts, and UT Arlington converted on 3-of-16 shots from the field over the opening nine and a half minutes of the contest.

Trailing by three at 10-7, the Tigers saw UT Arlington run off four straight points to lead by nine, and led by as many as 11 in the opening period, taking a 31-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.

UT Arlington's lead reached double-figures four different times in the second half, the last at 42-32 with 13:53 to play in the game before the Tiger offense took hold, using the charity stripe to do most of the damage. Over a two and a half minute span, Tarrant Jr. made six free throws, Burrell two, and Dedric Lawson two; however, it was a Woodson three-pointer with 12:20 to play in the game that gave Memphis its first lead since the early stages of the game.

The Tiger lead reached as many as six after Woodson's third made three-pointer of the game; but the Mavericks fought back, using an 8-1 run over a four minute stretch to turn a four-point Tiger advantage into a three-point UT Arlington lead. The Tigers got the score back within one after a pair of Burrell free throws with just over three minutes to play in the game, but Memphis could not come back a second time in the half, falling 68-64.

Memphis hit just 16-of-54 (29.6%) from the field, 4-of-21 (19.0%) from long range, and 28-of-44 (63.6%) from the free throw line. UT Arlington made 33.3 percent (26-of-78) from the field, 5-of-28 (17.9%) from long range, and 11-of-19 (57.9%) from the charity stripe.

The Tigers return to action on Friday, November 27 when the team takes on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the HoopHall Miami Invitational, in a 6:30 CT tip-off in Miami, Florida.