Tigers pass toughest Bahamas test

Tyler Harris (1) led the Tigers with 19 points in Saturday's win over the Bahamian National Team.

Aug 17, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Harris, Quinones, Baugh pace victory over experienced national team

By: Phil Stukenborg

VIDEO: Coach Hardaway Post-Game Interview | Game Highlights

NASSAU, Bahamas – The challenging test the University of Memphis men's basketball team expected during its foreign tour materialized Saturday.

The Bahamian National Team, which three nights earlier had defeated 2019 NCAA runner-up Texas Tech at another Nassau venue, pushed the Tigers repeatedly – mostly by knocking down 16 3-pointers. But the Tigers answered each time and walked off the convention center court at the Baha Mar Resort with an 87-77 victory.

It was an effort that impressed Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, whose team improved to 3-0 on its Bahamas exhibition series with a single game – Sunday at 9 a.m. CT – remaining.

"We knew what was going to happen," Hardaway said. "We knew the national team would be really good, and they were. They were physical and they were well-organized, well-coached and they had some really good players."

The tight, competitive game differed from the UofM's first two games, victories by 31 and 75 points. Memphis trailed by 11 (24-13) late in the first quarter (FIBA rules, four quarters, 24-second clock), but rallied at the start of the second quarter behind freshman Lester Quinones and Tyler Harris.

Quinones knocked down an early 3-pointer, Harris scored the next six points (three free throws, 3-pointer) and Quinones closed the 14-3 run with another 3-pointer to regain the lead at 30-27. Memphis trailed only briefly, at 39-37, the remainder of the game. The Tigers eventually built a double-digit advantage of 12 points (74-62) in the fourth quarter.

Harris, a sophomore guard, led the Tigers with 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench, Quinones added 17 points and D.J. Jeffries posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Damion Baugh continued to impress with his toughness and defense, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

"It was very fun," Baugh said. "It will help us."

The Tigers outrebounded the National Team, 51-34, and had 20 assists and 14 steals. The Bahamians, coached by Golden State Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco, were led by D'Shon Taylor and Jaron Cornish, each of whom scored 20 points. Taylor played for the Commonwealth Bank Giants earlier in the week and scored 30 points against the Tigers in a lopsded Memphis victory.

Quinones said Saturday's highly competitive game taught the team that "when we hit adversity, we have to stay calm."

"It was a great test for us," Quinones said. "We handled it very well."

Harris said the key to the comeback in the second quarter was the team's defensive play.

"We had to lock in defensively." Harris said. "We knew we had to get three or four stops in a row so we could go on a big run."