Tigers beat New Orleans, 97-55

Saturday, December 28

Memphis, Tenn.

12:30 PM

University of Memphis

11-1,0-0AAC

New Orleans

4-8,0-2Southland

New Orleans

Memphis

Precious Achiuwa (55) had a double-double and Damion Baugh (10) added 7 steals and 7 assists.

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Dec 28, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook (UM 97, UNO 55)Memphis Season Statistics

Achiuwa's double-double leads UofM to lopsided non-conference victory

By: Phil Stukenborg

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Behind the fifth double-double of the season from freshman forward Precious Achiuwa – and 13 points from freshman guard Lester Quinones in his return – the ninth-ranked University of Memphis men's basketball team overwhelmed the University of New Orleans, 97-55, Saturday at FedExForum.

Achiuwa scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds for the Tigers (11-1), who won their ninth straight game. Quinones, playing for the first time since breaking his right hand Nov. 23 against Ole Miss, finished with 13 points in 18 minutes.

Three other Tigers – Tyler Harris (11), D.J. Jeffries (10) and Isaiah Maurice (10) – scored in double figures. Guard Damion Baugh added seven steals and seven assists, both team highs. UNO (4-8) was led in scoring by Troy Green with 22 points.

Although the UofM committed 27 turnovers – its second-straight game with at least 27 – the Tigers breezed to a victory behind 52 percent shooting and a decisive advantage on the boards (45-29).

The Tigers also forced 28 turnovers and scored 27 points off UNO mistakes.

"Even though we had a lot of turnovers this game, we came out the way we were supposed to (and) turned them over," Tigers coach Penny Hardaway said. "We jumped on top of them right away and got the game under control."

Defensively, the Tigers limited UNO to 29 percent shooting, including 18 percent from beyond the arc.

"Obviously, we're playing defense incredibly well, really good half-court defense," Hardaway said. "We're holding teams to really low percentages and winning the rebounding battle as well. A couple of good stats, but we have to take the turnovers down."

Ahead by 27 at the half, the Tigers stretched their lead in the second half. It reached 34 points (75-41) midway through the half after a fastbreak dunk by Achiuwa and 39 (81-42) following a corner 3-pointer by Harris. A 3-pointer by Jayden Hardaway extended the advantage to 42 points (92-50) with four minutes to go.

The Tigers were not threatened in the second half and ended all doubt behind a 12-2 run midway through the half that led to a 37-point advantage.

In the first half, the Tigers shot 60 percent and outrebounded the Privateers, 21-9, to grab a 51-24 advantage. Memphis made nine of its first 10 field goal tries to build an early 25-8 lead.

The UofM also was accurate from long range in the first half making seven-of-11 attempts.

Quinones had nine points at the half to lead the Tigers and admitted it was enjoyable returning to the floor after a month-long absence.

"It felt great to be back out there with my guys," Quinones said. "Being on the sidelines for those four-to-five weeks helped me see the game differently, seeing all the little stuff, all the talk and communication, all the things we need improvement with."

The Privateers were limited to 25 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes and committed 14 turnovers.

The Tigers quickly return to the court, playing Tulane at 8 p.m. Monday in their American Athletic Conference opener.

NOTES

Damion Baugh's seven steals tied for seventh-most in a single game in school history. It represented the most steals by a Tigers player since Elliot Perry had nine against Tennessee on Nov. 27 1990.
The Tigers' bench outscored the New Orleans' reserves, 47-3.
For the seventh time during the team's nine-game winning streak, the Tigers limited an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting. UNO shot 29 percent. "They've got great length," said UNO coach Mark Slessinger. "They run and jump and do some different things to get you out of what you want to do from an offensive perspective."
The nine-game winning streak is the longest since the Tigers won 18 straight during the 2012-13 season.
Lance Thomas did not play because of a groin injury.
Precious Achiuwa had 10 rebounds. It was the seventh time in eight games he has had double-figure rebounds.
The football team's Goodyear Cotton Bowl game was shown on corner video boards at the arena during the basketball game.