University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
4-2,0-0AAC
Mississippi Valley State
0-6,0-0SWAC
Memphis rolls past Mississippi Valley State, 94-57
Dec 08, 2020 | Men's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis defeated Mississippi Valley State 94-57 Tuesday night as the Tigers rolled to a third consecutive victory at FedExForum.
Memphis (4-2) raced out to a 55-29 lead at halftime and outscored the Delta Devils (0-6) 39-28 in the second half.
"We got a good look at a lot of stuff we were trying to see tonight," said Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway. "We wanted to see our guys play together and play unselfishly. We did a great job of that."
Stat-sheet stuffers
Memphis owned a sizeable advantage in nearly every statistic Tuesday night as several players posted impressive stat lines.
Lester Quinones and Moussa Cisse both posted their second double-double of the season. Quinones had 14 points and posted season-highs with 11 rebounds and seven assists. Cisse added 14 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. They both also had a double-double in an 83-54 win over Arkansas State last week.
"I was out there just being scrappy, playing defense, giving it my all and doing what I need to do for this team to win," Quinones said. "We have a lot of weapons on this team. If everybody follows the scheme and the game plan, we're going to dominate teams."
D.J. Jeffries came up just short of his first double-double this season with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds.
Alex Lomax had a career-high 11 assists off the bench. It's the most assists by a Tiger since Jeremiah Martin had 11 in a win over SMU on Jan. 19, 2019.
"I'm finding my rhythm right now," Lomax said. "It was one of those nights where I was seeing everything and my teammates were making shots. We're going to keep riding this wave and go from here."
Ellis attacks
Boogie Ellis came off the bench to score 18 points in 24 minutes. The Tigers outscored the Delta Devils by 40 with Ellis on the court. He was especially aggressive offensively in the first half, scoring 12 points on 4-for-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
Up next
Memphis will travel to Atlanta for a neutral-site matchup with Auburn (2-2) at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
"This is a game we have been working on for almost a month now," Quinones said. "The past few games we've had are just leading into this game with Auburn. We're excited and ready."
After the game with Auburn, the Tigers open conference play next Wednesday at Tulane. Memphis' next home games are Dec. 21 against Tulsa and Dec. 29 against USF. A limited number of tickets are available at www.GoTigersGoTix.com.
