Brewton's season-high 19 points lead Tigers past Albany

Tuesday, December 12

Memphis, Tenn.

8 PM

University of Memphis

7-2

Albany

10-2

Team	1	2	F
Albany (NY)	22	36	58
Memphis	29	38	67

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Brewton's season-high 19 points lead Tigers past Albany

Dec 12, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Phil Stukenborg

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Another home win, another hero.

The University of Memphis extended its record at FedExForum to 7-0 Tuesday night with a Kareem Brewton Jr.-led 67-58 victory over Albany in the Houzz Gotham Classic presented by TicketIQ.

Brewton, a junior from Claxton, Ga, scored a season-high 17 points and was 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-3 from long range. He helped the Tigers (7-2) defeat an Albany team that entered the game with a 10-1 record and had won four straight.

"When that first basket went in, I felt I could make all of them," said Brewton.

Brewton's best night as a Tiger followed a season-high performance from Jamal Johnson, the freshman guard from Birmingham who scored 18 in a 90-72 win over Bryant last weekend. Brewton's previous high was 13 in the opener against Alabama at the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Md.

"We've been practicing well," said Tiger coach Tubby Smith. "We probably wouldn't have beaten this team two or three weeks ago. I think we're improving."

Albany entered the game as one of the top shooting teams in the America East Conference. The Great Danes also were No. 6 in the Mid-Major Top 25 rankings.

"We beat a good team," Smith said. "I was impressed with Albany watching them on tape and I was impressed with them tonight. Against, our defense was the key."

Albany uncharacteristically struggled shooting. The Great Danes were shooting an American East Conference-leading 49.5 percent, but were held to 34.4 percent shooting. The Tigers blocked 11 Albany shots.

"I thought we hurt ourselves more than Memphis hurt us, to be honest with you," said Albany coach Will Brown. "We made some careless turnovers.
"We thought we were the better basketball team coming into the game, but we knew we couldn't allow their athleticism and length to bother us. I thought we did, especially in the first half."

Memphis watched an early seven-point lead in the second half dwindle to one (49-48) with eight minutes remaining. That's when the Tigers put together a 9-0 run to pull away, taking a 58-48 lead with 5:17 to go. Jimario Rivers had five of the Tigers' points during the run, including a three-point play to close it.

Johnson added a key 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:12 left to keep the Great Danes from mounting a comeback. Johnson's trey gave Memphis a 63-54 lead.

The Tigers led 29-22 at the half, an advantage built by 48 percent shooting (12-of-25). Defensively, the U of M limited Albany to 24.2 percent shooting and blocked seven shots, including three by Kyvon Davenport.

In the first half, Memphis also outrebounded a team that was outrebounding the opposition by 10. Albany eventually won the battle on the boards, 38-32.

Brewton scored 11 of his points in the first half, providing a spark off the bench for the second straight game.

The Tigers wrapped up a four-game homestand Tuesday night and will play Louisville Saturday at Madison Square Garden in another Houzz Gotham Classic. The Memphis-Louisville game is the Showcase Game of the Classic. The Tigers will conclude Classic play with next Wednesday's game at FedExForum against Siena.