No. 22 Tigers Take Down Owls in 19-Point Rout

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A strong second half powered the No. 22 University of Memphis men's basketball team past Florida Atlantic Sunday afternoon at FedExForum, 84-65.

With the victory, the Tigers have officially clinched a double-bye and a top-4 seed in next month's AAC Championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

After trailing for nearly 16 minutes to open the game, Memphis (22-5, 12-2 American Athletic Conference) broke things open early in the second half with a 12-0 run. The Tigers then put together a 13-0 run a few minutes later to build a 27-point advantage and help secure the victory to get Memphis back on the winning track.

Memphis was led by Dain Dainja's double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. PJ Haggerty also recorded 22 points, while grabbing six rebounds. Colby Rogers added 15 points with three triples.

Both teams struggled offensively out of the gate, combining to make just one of the first 11 shots attempted. Florida Atlantic put together a 5-0 run less than five minutes into the action, and eventually grabbed its largest lead of the game at 18-12, before the Tigers started to find a groove.

Memphis reeled off 14-straight points and held the Owls scoreless for more than four minutes en route to taking a 37-32 lead into the halftime break.

Hometown hero Damarien Yates came off the bench in the first half and immediately impacted both ends of the floor. He recorded a steal, a block, two assists, and scored bucket in just five minutes.

Memphis continued its momentum into the second half behind the exceptional play from Dainja and Haggerty.

The duo combined for 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting in the second half to help the Tigers outscore FAU, 47-33, in the final 20 minutes.

Florida Atlantic (15-12, 8-6) entered the game having won five of its last six games, powered by the league's top scoring offense. The Tigers had other plans, however, holding the Owls to 15 points below their season average (80.2) behind a scrappy defensive effort.

Memphis came away with nine steals and eight blocked shots in the win, and limited FAU to just four second-chance points.

Memphis ended the game shooting 47.1 percent from the field (33-70) and went 19-of-34 in the second half (.559).

The Owls were led by Tre Carroll's 20 points and seven rebounds.

POSTGAME NOTES

Memphis used the starting lineup of PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Dain Dainja for the 10^th time this season.
- They are 9-1 on the year with that group.
The Tigers improved to 11-2 at home this season and have now won 12-consecutive home contests against AAC competition.
Memphis improved to 4-2 all-time against FAU, including a 3-0 mark at home.
Memphis totaled eight blocks and nine steals in the game.
- It's tied for the third-most blocks of the season after recording eight now in back-to-back games.
The Tigers finished with 17 assists to just 10 turnovers.
- It's their eighth-straight game with a positive assist/turnover ratio.
  - They have recorded 152 assists in that span.
Memphis shot 13-of-15 at the free throw line for an 86.7-percent clip.
- It's the Tigers' best free throw percentage of the season.
FAU went just 5-of-19 at the line (27.8%).
- The Owls entered the game shooting 71% at the stripe this season.
Memphis outscored FAU in the paint (52-28) after winning the rebounding battle, 44-33.
The Tigers grabbed 16 offensive boards and scored 19 second-chance points.
- They allowed just four second-chance points by FAU on 12 rebounds.
Memphis forced 12 turnovers and scored 24 points off those miscues.
Dain Dainja put up a career high-tying 22 points with 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in 27 minutes.
- The big man was 8-of-13 shooting overall and recorded his fourth 20-point game in the last eight outings.
  - He matched his career high in points, and his season highs in blocks and steals.
PJ Haggerty scored 22 points with six rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes.
- He matched his career high with 11 made field goals.
  - It's the 18^th game of 20+ points for Haggerty, his ninth against AAC foes.
    - He scored 14 of his points on 7-of-9 shooting after halftime.
Colby Rogers bounced back with his best game of the conference season.
- The guard dropped 15 points in 28 minutes and led the team with a 3-of-6 day from long distance.
  - Memphis improved to 12-2 this season when Rogers reaches double figures and 8-1 when he scores at least 12.
Tyrese Hunter finished with nine points and a season high eight assists in a team-high 32 minutes.
Moussa Cisse matched Dainja with a game-high 11 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
- It marks his fourth game of 10+ rebounds this season, and second in a row (14 at Wichita State).
PJ Carter scored eight points in 15 minutes off the bench.
- He was 1-of-7 from long distance, extending his streak to 10 games with a made triple.
Damarien Yates played a career high eight-plus minutes and was productive on both ends of the court.
- He finished with two points, two assists two steals and a rebound after scoring his first bucket since Nov. 15.

UP NEXT
Memphis is back at FedExForum for the first of its final two home games on Wednesday, when the Rice Owls swoop in for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPN+.

The Tigers will then head to Birmingham for a rematch with the AAC's second-place team, UAB, on Sunday at 3 p.m.

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.

University of Memphis Athletics

Players Mentioned

PJ Carter

Moussa Cisse

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

Tyrese Hunter

Nicholas Jourdain

Colby Rogers

Damarien Yates

Related Videos