Tigers beat UConn, 78-71, to snap 3-game skid

Sunday, February 10

Memphis, Tenn.

1 PM

University of Memphis

UConn

Memphis

Kyvon Davenport had his first 20-point scoring game since Jan. 3.

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Feb 10, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Boxscore (UM 78, UC 71)Memphis Season Statistics (Overall)Memphis Season Statistics (Conference Only)

Davenport scores 26, Martin and Harris add 12 each, to lead UofM

By: Phil Stukenborg

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Kyvon Davenport scored a game-high 26 points and the University of Memphis survived a strong second-half comeback try by UConn in a 78-71 American Athletic Conference victory Sunday at FedExForum.

Davenport had his first 20-point game for the Tigers since Jan. 3 when the UofM opened conference play with a victory at home over Wichita State. The victory allowed the Tigers to snap a three-game losing streak.

"It's just good to get a win," Tigers coach Penny Hardaway said. "We'll take it however we can get it. We've just got to pile up wins from this point forward."

In addition to Davenport, the Tigers placed three others in double figures: Tyler Harris (12), Jeremiah Martin (12) and Raynere Thornton (11). Thornton finished with a team-high eight rebounds and Martin contributed a team-high six assists.

UConn was playing without its top player and leading scorer, Jalen Adams, out with a knee injury. Tyler Polley, averaging 7.4 points, led the Huskies with 20 points and Sidney Wilson added 16.

Memphis shot 48.2 percent, its best percentage since making 50 percent of its attempts against Wichita State.

"It's to the point now where we have to (play) desperate," Hardaway said. "We knew we had to get this win. It was a must win."

While the Tigers (14-10, 6-5 The American) never trailed in the game, they had to battle to maintain the lead in the second half. The Huskies (13-11, 4-7 The American) crashed the boards with a vengeance in the second half, a development that nearly allowed them to erase a 16-point deficit.

UConn outrebounded the Tigers by 11 overall (37 to 26), but was particularly dominant in the second half, where they enjoyed a 24-8 advantage on the boards. Eric Cobb had nine of his 11 rebounds in the second half.

Ahead by seven at the half, the Tigers opened on a 9-0 run capped by a fastbreak dunk by Davenport and a layup by Mike Parks. Both baskets came via flashy assists from Jeremiah Martin. Martin's assist to Davenport came on a pass off the backboard and was followed by a quick flick to Parks on the next possession.

The fast start gave the Tigers a 46-30 lead, but UConn kept chipping away at the lead and eventually got it to single digits. A 3-pointer by Tyler Polley made it 56-48 midway through the half. The Tigers briefly regaining a double-digit lead before the Huskies' board crashing helped them make it a four-point game (72-68) with 1:14 to go.

Memphis, however, was able to finish strong, getting a put-back dunk from Raynere Thornton and going 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds. Martin and Thornton each went 2-of-2 from the line.

"I thought Memphis was a really strong team," said UConn coach Dan Hurley. "Their senior players were the difference. Davenport is a heck of a player. I thought he was difference (but) I'm proud of the way we fought."

Although the Tigers led by as many as 14 in the first half, they only led by seven (37-30) at the break.

UConn ended the half on a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to single digits. Memphis never trailed in the opening half after jumping to a 14-7 lead at the first media timeout. The Tigers stretched their lead to 35-21 with 4:04 to go in the half after two Davenport free throws.

In the first half, the Tigers shot 44.8 percent and outrebounded the Huskies, 20-13. Davenport had 16 points at the half to lead the Tigers.

Memphis resumes conference play Wednesday at East Carolina.

NOTABLE

Tiger forward Victor Enoh saw his first playing time since Jan. 13 at Tulane. Enoh played three minutes and did not score.
The best assist of the game came early in the second half when Tiger guard Jeremiah Martin passed to Kyvon Davenport on a `missed' layup off the backboard. Davenport caught it and dunked it for a 44-30 Memphis lead.
Martin took only six shots after averaging 19.5 attempts in the team's past two games.
With his 12 points Sunday, Martin moved to No. 19 on the school's career scoring list with 1,313 points. He moved ahead of David Vaughn, who scored 1,305 points from 1992-95.
UConn fell to 0-6 in road games, all coming in conference play.
The Tigers earned their first victory since a 77-57 victory over UCF Jan. 27 at FedExForum.