Electric Crowd Helps Memphis Rally to Win in AAC Opener

Thursday, December 29

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

11-3,1-0AAC

South Florida

7-7,0-1AAC

South Fla.

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Electric Crowd Helps Memphis Rally to Win in AAC Opener

Dec 29, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Tigers erased a second-half deficit and earned a win in the American Athletic Conference opener Thursday night against South Florida, 93-86.

The Tigers (11-3, 1-0 AAC) was paced by Kendric Davis' 24 points, and he also had nine assists and a season high five steals. DeAndre Williams and Alex Lomax added 16 points apiece, while Chandler Lawson and Elijah McCadden also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

After going into the halftime break tied at 46, Memphis found itself trailing by 10 with just under 12 minutes to play. Over the next few minutes, the two sides traded buckets as the Tigers still trailed by double digits, 76-66, with seven minutes on the clock. Then, Davis took over.

The fifth-year senior drilled a three-pointer then picked USF's pocket before finishing a pass from Lomax to pull Memphis to within four and get the Tiger fans roaring. A minute later, Davis buried another triple to give Memphis its first lead in nearly 12 minutes of game play. Davis stepped in front of another pass and dished his ninth assist to Williams on a fast-break alley oop to give the Tigers an 87-81 advantage before icing the game at the free throw line to get the 93-86 win.

The Tigers scored 27 points over South Florida's season average of 66.3 points per game by its opponents.

Memphis shot 48.5 percent as a team (32-66) and made 25-of-35 at the free throw line.

The Tigers blistered the nets in the first half, shooting 56.3 percent from the floor (18-32) in the opening 20 minutes, with six players scoring at least five points.

USF (7-7, 0-1 AAC) was led by Serrel Smith Jr.'s 21 points, while Tyler Harris added all 17 of his points in the second half.

UP NEXT
The Tigers hit the road and will open the new year at Tulane on Sunday with a 4 p.m. tilt on ESPN.

POSTGAME NOTES

Memphis used the starting lineup of Kendric Davis, Alex Lomax, DeAndre Williams, Chandler Lawson and Elijah McCadden for the first time this season.
- The Tigers have now used four different starting lineups in 14 games this year and in each of the last three games.
Memphis leads the all-time series with USF 31-7.
- The Tigers have won four-straight matchups.
Memphis is 4-1in conference openers under Penny Hardaway.
The last time Memphis scored 90 points in a conference opener was in 2007-08 when they dropped 99 on East Carolina.
- The Tigers have now scored 80+ points in six-straight games for the first time since doing so in seven consecutive from Dec. 4, 2018 to Jan. 3, 2019.
Memphis outscored USF 54-32 in the paint and 20-19 off turnovers.
The Tigers dished 22 assists to 14 turnovers, and matched their season high in 20 turnovers forced on defense.
Memphis recorded 12 steals, giving them double-digit thefts in four of the last six games.
McCadden added six rebounds to his 10 points in 29 minutes.
Williams led the team with seven boards and dished four dimes to go with his 16 points in 33 minutes.
Davis and Lomax combined for 40 points, 15 assists and seven steals.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.