Tigers Win Fourth Straight With Victory At UConn Sunday

Sunday, February 25

Storrs, Conn.

3 PM

University of Memphis

18-11, 9-7AAC

UConn

13-16, 6-10AAC

MEMPHIS

UCONN

Kareem Brewton Jr., 2017-18 Men's Basketball

Photo by: Gregory Fisher

Tigers Win Fourth Straight With Victory At UConn Sunday

Feb 25, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Memphis-Connecticut Boxscore Memphis Season Statistics (Overall/Conference Only)

Johnson, Parks. Jr lead the way with 18 points apiece.

By: Phil Stukenborg

STORRS, Conn. – The late-season run for the University of Memphis added another victim Sunday.

The Tigers won their fourth straight -- and their fifth conference road game --with an 83-79 American Athletic Conference victory over UConn at Gampel Pavilion. Playing without starting point guard Jeremiah Martin, who suffered a broken foot in last week's upset of No. 23 Houston, and largely without starting forward Kyvon Davenport, who was limited to seven minutes because of foul trouble, the Tigers (18-11, 9-7 American) persevered.

Freshman guard Jamal Johnson and junior forward Mike Parks Jr., scored 18 points each, Raynere Thornton added 16, and Kareem Brewton, taking over for Martin, finished with 12 points and seven assists. Johnson also had a team-high eight rebounds for the Tigers, who won the battle on the boards, 32-25.

"I think everyone has realized they have to step up and do more," said Tigers coach Tubby Smith. "This was a good win."

The Tigers finished the regular season with a 5-4 league road record by hitting 10 or more 3-pointers for the second-straight game. Thornton made 5-of-6 and Johnson made 4-of-6 to lead Memphis, which finished 11-of-22 from beyond the arc.

"We have a lot of firepower," Brewton said. "We have a lot of skill players on our team."

In an earlier meeting this season at FedExForum, the Tigers defeated UConn, 73-49, behind a pair of identical double-doubles: Martin and Parks Jr., each had 21 points and 11 rebounds. In that game, the Tigers outrebounded the Huskies by 15.

Sunday the Tigers pulled away in the second half and eventually stretched their advantage to 23 points (61-38) with 10 minutes left on a layup by David Nickelberry off an inbounds pass.

UConn put together a late rally, but couldn't closer than four points. The Huskies (13-16, 6-10 American) scored 11 points in the final 40 seconds, but the flurry was offset by Brewton and Parks, who each made two free throws in the same span.

Jalen Adams led UConn with 25 points and Christian Vital finished with 19.

In the first half, the Tigers shot 51.7 percent, including 8-of-16 from beyond the arc, to build a 41-31 lead. Memphis closed the half on a 17-5 run, powered by the long-range accuracy of Johnson and Malik Rhodes. Johnson connected on three-straight treys in the final 2:06, and Rhodes knocked down another at the 5:36 mark.

Midway through the opening half, the Tigers trailed by 10 as the Huskies enjoyed some success of their own from long distance. Antwoine Anderson's 3-pointer capped a 12-0 run and UConn led 23-13 with about nine minutes left.

But the Tigers – with only 15 combined first-half minutes from Davenport and Jimario Rivers because of foul trouble – gradually climbed back. The first of Rhodes' 3-pointers trimmed the UConn advantage to 24-22 and his second gave the Tigers a 27-26 lead, their first of the half.

Memphis out-rebounded the Huskies, 16-10, in the opening 20 minutes.

Memphis closes the regular season with two league home games: Thursday against USF and Sunday against ECU. The finale against ECU also serves as Senior Day with Jimario Rivers and Alex Moffatt being honored.

NOTABLES

With 18 points, Jamal Johnson had his best outing points-wise since scoring 18 at USF Jan. 31 in an 86-74 victory over the Bulls.
Raynere Thornton has been on a recent 3-point tear. By going 5-of-6 from long range against UConn, he has made 11 of his last 15 3-point shots, benefiting from a tip from head coach Tubby Smith on not following the flight of the ball, but concentrating on the rim.
Tigers guard Malik Rhodes had his second-straight strong outing. Pressed into backup point guard duty because of Jeremiah Martin's injury, Rhodes finished with eight points and five assists in 25 minutes. He had key free throws late in the game against No. 23 Houston Feb. 22.

QUOTABLE

"We've been up and down all season, but I think we are making a run at the right time." – Tigers guard Jamal Johnson.