Saturday, November 16
Memphis, Tenn.
1 PM
University of Memphis
3-1,0-0AAC
102
vs
56
Alcorn State
1-3,0-0SWAC
1
2
F
Alcorn
24
32
56
Memphis
52
50
102
Lester Quinones had his first double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Photo by: Matthew A. Smith
Quinones, Achiuwa lead Tigers past Alcorn State
Nov 16, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Former prep teammates combine for 41 points and 18 rebounds in lopsided win
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – As former high school teammates in New Jersey, Lester Quinones and Precious Achiuwa led St. Benedict's Prep to its share of victories.
Saturday at FedExForum, the duo combined for a throwback performance.
Quinones scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his young career and Achiuwa finished with 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the University of Memphis past Alcorn State, 102-56.
The 13th-ranked Tigers, playing for the first time since losing to No. 14 Oregon Tuesday in Portland, shot 58 percent and outrebounded the undersized Braves, 50-36, to improve to 3-1. The UofM led by 28 points at the half and by as many as 53 points late in the second half in the lopsided victory.
The UofM forced 26 turnovers and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
"I felt we did a really good job turning them over 26 times," Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. "That's something that we want to do. We felt like at the Oregon game we needed to pressure more. We didn't get an opportunity to pressure as much."
Three other Tigers – D.J. Jeffries (15), Lance Thomas (11) and Tyler Harris (11) – also scored in double figures. For Quinones and Achiuwa, their point totals represented career highs.
"Going into games like this, coach really emphasizes us moving the ball and focusing on the little things, like defensive fundamentals and rotations and stuff like that," said Quinones, who turned 19 Saturday. "I was (concentrating) on crashing the boards since they are a pretty undersized team and just breaking the press and finding my open teammates."
The Tigers' 7-foot-1 center James Wiseman did not play for the first time this season as the school and the NCAA move to resolve his eligibility status. Wiseman is averaging 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games.
Against Alcorn State, it took a while for the Tigers in the opening half, but they eventually found a rhythm in the final eight minutes. The UofM put together an 18-3 run to pull ahead, 45-21. Harris scored eight points during the stretch, including six points on two deep 3-pointers. Achiuwa scored six points during the run.
"The guys started off a little slow, but then we got it going with that second unit that came in (with Harris and Jeffries)," Hardaway said. "The energy picked up."
Some of the energy was supplied by senior Isaiah Maurice, who finished with nine rebounds and six points in 13 minutes.
"Isaiah deserved more minutes," Hardaway said. "But I had to get Precious going, give him some confidence because he only shot the ball five times against Oregon."
At the half, the Tigers were shooting 58 percent from the field, but struggling from the line. The UofM made 14 of 25 free throws (56 percent), while Alcorn made only seven of 14. The Braves also had difficulty from the field missing 21 of their 29 field goal attempts.
For the game, the Tigers shot only 53 percent from the free-throw line (24-of-45). Achiuwa was 8-of-20 from the line.
Memphis remains home to play Little Rock Wednesday at FedExForum.
NOTES
Saturday at FedExForum, the duo combined for a throwback performance.
Quinones scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his young career and Achiuwa finished with 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the University of Memphis past Alcorn State, 102-56.
The 13th-ranked Tigers, playing for the first time since losing to No. 14 Oregon Tuesday in Portland, shot 58 percent and outrebounded the undersized Braves, 50-36, to improve to 3-1. The UofM led by 28 points at the half and by as many as 53 points late in the second half in the lopsided victory.
The UofM forced 26 turnovers and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
"I felt we did a really good job turning them over 26 times," Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. "That's something that we want to do. We felt like at the Oregon game we needed to pressure more. We didn't get an opportunity to pressure as much."
Three other Tigers – D.J. Jeffries (15), Lance Thomas (11) and Tyler Harris (11) – also scored in double figures. For Quinones and Achiuwa, their point totals represented career highs.
"Going into games like this, coach really emphasizes us moving the ball and focusing on the little things, like defensive fundamentals and rotations and stuff like that," said Quinones, who turned 19 Saturday. "I was (concentrating) on crashing the boards since they are a pretty undersized team and just breaking the press and finding my open teammates."
The Tigers' 7-foot-1 center James Wiseman did not play for the first time this season as the school and the NCAA move to resolve his eligibility status. Wiseman is averaging 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games.
Against Alcorn State, it took a while for the Tigers in the opening half, but they eventually found a rhythm in the final eight minutes. The UofM put together an 18-3 run to pull ahead, 45-21. Harris scored eight points during the stretch, including six points on two deep 3-pointers. Achiuwa scored six points during the run.
"The guys started off a little slow, but then we got it going with that second unit that came in (with Harris and Jeffries)," Hardaway said. "The energy picked up."
Some of the energy was supplied by senior Isaiah Maurice, who finished with nine rebounds and six points in 13 minutes.
"Isaiah deserved more minutes," Hardaway said. "But I had to get Precious going, give him some confidence because he only shot the ball five times against Oregon."
At the half, the Tigers were shooting 58 percent from the field, but struggling from the line. The UofM made 14 of 25 free throws (56 percent), while Alcorn made only seven of 14. The Braves also had difficulty from the field missing 21 of their 29 field goal attempts.
For the game, the Tigers shot only 53 percent from the free-throw line (24-of-45). Achiuwa was 8-of-20 from the line.
Memphis remains home to play Little Rock Wednesday at FedExForum.
NOTES
- Lance Thomas made the first start of his Tigers' career and finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes. He made 5-of-7 field goals.
- After making 4-of-23 from beyond the arc in Tuesday's loss at Oregon, the Tigers were 4-of-16 against Alcorn State.
- Saturday's game was part of the Barclays Center Classic, as will Wednesday's game against Little Rock. The Tigers play North Carolina State Nov. 28 in Brooklyn in the final game of their Barclays Center Classic schedule.
- Alcorn State, a member of the SWAC, has not defeated a non-conference Division 1 opponent since the 2012-13 season when it beat Samford.
Team Stats
Alcorn
Mem
FG%
.302
.578
3FG%
.185
.250
FT%
.565
.533
RB
36
50
TO
26
19
STL
10
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
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