Tigers Fall To Ducks Tuesday

Tuesday, November 12

Portland, Ore.

8 PM

University of Memphis

2-1,0-0AAC

Oregon

3-0,0-0Pac-12

Oregon

Memphis

Photo by: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Nov 12, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook (UO 82, UM 74)

Quinones leads the way with 16 points.

By: Phil Stukenborg

PORTLAND, Ore. – Early foul issues for University of Memphis freshman center James Wiseman put the 13^th-ranked Tigers in an early bind and the 14^th-ranked Oregon Ducks took advantage to claim an 82-74 victory Tuesday night at the Moda Center in the Phil Knight Invitational.

Wiseman missed nearly 15 minutes of the first half, but came back in the second half to finish with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Lester Quinones led the Tigers with 16 points, while D.J. Jeffries contributed 12 and Damion Baugh 11.

The Tigers (2-1) shot 37.7 percent and made only four of 23 3-pointers.

Oregon (3-0) also had four players score in double figures led by Shakur Juison, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

"We kept fighting, we knew it was going to be a tough game," said University of Memphis coach Penny Hardaway. "That's why we scheduled it."

Behind the solid play of Quinones, the Tigers overcame a six-point halftime deficit to eventually take a 49-48 lead with 15:46 to go on a 3-pointer by Quinones. But the Ducks quickly recovered scoring nine straight points for a 57-49 advantage. Chandler Lawson's three-point play gave the Ducks the eight-point cushion.

The Tigers got as close as 57-53 a few minutes later following a slam by Wiseman with 11 minutes to go, but couldn't get closer.

"(Oregon) has veteran guys and they played really well," Hardaway said.

Quinones said "we've just got to learn from tough losses like this."

The Tigers were playing their first road game of the season.

In the first half, Wiseman picked up two fouls in the opening five minutes and sat out the remainder of the half. He did not take a shot in those minutes, but grabbed five rebounds.

Without the 7-foot-1 Wiseman in the lineup, the Tigers were outrebounded 22-18 in the first half.

Minus Wiseman, the Tigers fell behind by 12 (23-11) midway through the half, but rallied behind a smaller lineup paced by Alex Lomax. A 7-0 run late in the half allowed the Tigers to trim the deficit to one (30-29) after a Lomax layup in traffic. Quinones followed with a putback for a 31-30 advantage.

Oregon closed on an 11-4 run for its 41-35 halftime lead.

Memphis shot 38.2 percent in the half, while the Ducks shot 48.6 percent. Oregon made 5-of-13 3-pointers in the first half.

The Tigers return home to play Alcorn State at 1 p.m. Saturday at FedExForum.