No. 9/7 Houston hits buzzer-beater to top Memphis in regular-season finale

Sunday, March 7

Houston, Texas

11 a.m.

University of Memphis

15-7,11-4AAC

Houston

21-3,14-3AAC

Memphis

Houston

Photo by: University of Houston

No. 9/7 Houston hits buzzer-beater to top Memphis in regular-season finale

Mar 07, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HOUSTON – Memphis tied the game at 64 on a Boogie Ellis 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left, but the No. 9/7 Houston Cougars came down and banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Tigers Sunday afternoon in Houston, 67-64.

Memphis (15-7, 11-4 AAC) will be the third seed in next week's American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship. Houston (21-3, 14-3) secured the second seed with Sunday's win. The Tigers will play at 9 p.m. Friday on ESPNU against the winner of the first-round game between sixth-seeded UCF and 11th-seeded East Carolina.

Memphis' third-place finish in the AAC is its best since finishing third in the conference in 2013-14.

The loss snapped Memphis' six-game winning streak, but the Tigers have still won nine of their last 11 games entering postseason play.

Trailing 64-61 with nine seconds left, Lester Quinones missed a 3-pointer but the ricochet went to Ellis, who drained a triple to tie the game at 64 with just over one second left.

After a timeout, Houston threw the ball halfway down the court to Tramon Mark, who banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cougars the victory.

Houston has now won 25-straight home games, which is the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.

Landers Nolley II led Memphis with 14 points, and Houston native DeAndre Williams had 11, all in the second half. Williams also had four assists and three steals.

Quinones hit three 3-pointers and ended with 11 points for the Tigers. Malcolm Dandridge added nine points and five rebounds off the bench.

Despite five players with two first-half fouls and one with three, Memphis trailed by just four points at the break, 39-35. Nolley II led all scorers with 12 first-half points, and Quinones had eight with two big 3-pointers. Dandridge added seven points in 15 minutes from the bench.

The Tigers shot 46.9 percent from the floor in the game (23-49), compared to Houston's 36.7 percent (22-60).

The game featured eight ties and nine lead changes.

Up Next
After securing the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye, Memphis begins play in the 2021 Air Force Reserve AAC Men's Basketball Championship in the quarterfinals Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. The Tigers will play at 9 p.m. on ESPNU against the winner of the game between sixth-seeded UCF and 11th-seeded East Carolina.

Tickets for the tournament can be purchased through the Memphis Ticket Office at (901) 678-2331 or at THIS LINK. Ticket sales through the Memphis Ticket Office conclude at the end of the day Tuesday.

Postgame Notes

Memphis used the starting lineup of Boogie Ellis, Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley II, DeAndre Williams, and Moussa Cisse for the seventh-straight game.
- When it was used for the first time before Memphis' game against UCF on Feb. 1, it became the Tigers' eighth different starting lineup in the first 16 games of the season.
The Tigers' six-game winning streak was their second-longest since 2016-17.
- The other was a 10-game winning streak last season.
Memphis still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 33-19.
- The Tigers are on top 12-10 in games played on the road but have not won in Houston since Jan. 19, 2017.
Eight of the last nine meetings between Memphis and Houston have been decided by single digits.
Memphis was just short in its bid for its first road win against a top-10 team since beating No. 9 Louisville on Feb. 9, 2005, 85-68.
- The Tigers have lost six-straight road games against top-10 teams.
Landers Nolley II led Memphis with 14 points.
- He has topped the Tigers' scoresheet a team-high 10 times this season.
- Nolley II also leads the team with 15 10-point games this year.
Lester Quinones hit three 3-pointers in the contest.
- He had made a total of three in his last three games combined.