Tigers upset No. 22 Houston

Saturday, February 22

Memphis, Tenn.

1 PM

University of Memphis

19-8,8-6AAC

Houston

21-7,11-4AAC

Houston

Memphis

Alex Lomax (2) had two key free throws with a minute left in the UofM's win over Houston.

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Feb 22, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook (UM 60, UH 59)Memphis Season Statistics (Overall)Memphis Season Statistics (AAC Only)

Key second-half free throws, strong play from Dandridge, lead UofM

By: Phil Stukenborg

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis learned an important lesson Saturday at FedExForum in its 60-59 American Athletic Conference victory over 22^nd-ranked Houston.

It's not how you start.

The Tigers (19-8, 8-6 AAC) spotted the first-place Cougars (21-7, 11-4) an 8-0 lead at the start, but fought back and ended the game with several key defensive stops in the closing minutes. The UofM made 16 of 22 free throws in the second half, including seven of eight in the final 4:32, to beat a ranked opponent for the second time this season.

The UofM also committed a season-low eight turnovers and used a career-high 12 points from reserve big man Malcolm Dandridge in the win, its first at home over a ranked team in exactly two years, when it also defeated Houston.

"It was an amazing game for us for a lot of reasons," said Tigers coach Penny Hardaway. "A lot of the things we did today we haven't been doing, We've worked on it in practice but really hadn't shown it for 40 minutes. Today I felt like for 40 minutes we showed who we are."

In the second half, the Tigers had one more offensive rebound (6 to 5) than the nation's top-ranked offensive rebounding team. The UofM also got clutch free throw-shooting from Precious Achiuwa (8 of 12, all in the second half) and Lester Quinones (8 of 8 overall, 6 of 6 in the second half).

"I thought Penny did a great job with his team," said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. "They attacked us with Precious and did some good things there. They rebounded well.

"That was a good environment in there. Memphis has such a great basketball tradition."

The game attracted 17,735, the second-largest crowd of the season.

Dandridge led the Tigers in scoring with his 12 points. He also had three steals, two blocks and two assists. Three other Tigers – Achiuwa, Quinones and Tyler Harris – each scored 10 points. Achiuwa and 6-foot sophomore guard Lomax had six rebounds apiece to lead the team. Lomax's final rebound with 0.3 seconds to go secured the victory.

Harris connected on two of the Tigers' three 3-pointers, including a huge one with nine minutes left that gave the UofM a 46-40 lead. Harris said the win also gave the Tigers something else.

"It's a very good feeling, it's a confidence booster for sure," he said of defeating a nationally ranked opponent."

Ahead by four at the break, the Tigers extended their lead to eight points (36-28) early in the half following the fifth consecutive free throw by Achiuwa.

But the Cougars rallied. They trimmed the Memphis lead to two (39-37 and 46-44) midway through the half. And they grabbed their first lead of the second half on a 3-pointer by Marcus Sasser with 6:56 left.

The Tigers didn't reclaim the lead until a minute remained on two throw by Lomax for a 59-57 cushion. After Caleb Mills tied the game a last time on two free throws with 47 seconds to go, Achiuwa dropped in the game-winner with 28.6 seconds left.

"Free throws played a big part in the game, towards the end of the game," Lomax said. "I knew I had to make up for (missing two) free throws (early in the second half)."

At the half, the Tigers led 27-23 after rallying from an 8-0 deficit to start the game.

The Tigers didn't score until Lomax drove in for a layup with 13:38 to go in the half. Lomax's layup started a 10-2 run that allowed the UofM to tie the game at 10-all midway through the half.

Damion Baugh followed with a three-point play for a 13-10 advantage. The UofM never trailed the remainder of the half and eventually built an eight-point lead (22-14) with just over three minutes to go on a layup by Quinones. The layup by Quinones, which followed a driving baseline dunk by Achiuwa, forced the Cougars to call a timeout.

Memphis limited Houston to 25.7 percent shooting in the opening half, but the Cougars, one of the nation's top rebounding teams, dominated on the offensive boards. They had a 25-18 overall edge, but a 9-2 advantage on the offensive boards.

The Tigers go on the road for their next two conference games. They play SMU Tuesday in Dallas and Tulane Saturday in New Orleans.

TIGERS NOTEBOOK

The Tigers football team, which played in the Cotton Bowl after last season, was introduced at halftime.
The UofM's eight turnovers represented a season-low total and their first single-digit turnover game of the season. The previous low was 10 against Bradley on Dec. 3.
Freshman big man Malcolm Dandridge scored a career-high 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and 2-of-3 free throws. His previous career-high was 9 points.
Dandridge had back-to-back dunks late in the second half that kept Houston from pulling away. Each made it a one-point game, the first 54-53 and the second 56-55.
The Tigers limited Houston to 35 percent shooting. Only one UofM opponent has shot 50 percent or better.
The Memphis bench – led by Dandridge (12) and Tyler Harris (10) -- finished with 28 points. The reserves are averaging 27.2 points per game this season.