Dainja Drops Career-High 25 in 84-72 Win Over Rice

Wednesday, February 26

Memphis, Tenn.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

23-5,13-2AAC

Rice

13-16,4-12AAC

Rice

Memphis

Photo by: Zach Wall

Feb 26, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn – The No. 18 Memphis men's basketball team held on down the stretch to down Rice, 84-72, Wednesday night inside the FedExForum. It was their 13^th-straight victory at home against an American Athletic Conference opponent.

The Tigers have now won 10 of their last 11 games while improving to 23-5 overall and 13-2 in league play.

Memphis was led by senior forward Dain Dainja who recorded another double-double with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty followed with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Senior forward Nicholas Jourdain also finished in double figures, recording a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds.

Memphis jumped to an early 21-9 lead to open the game, holding Rice to zero made field goals for the first six minutes. The Owls (13-16, 4-12) finally began to find their rhythm, putting together a 12-2 run and cutting the deficit to two points.

The Tigers increased their intensity on defense and extended their lead after buckets from Jourdain and Damarien Yates as Memphis took a 39-32 advantage into halftime.

Rice came out of halftime and started connecting on shots. Over a 15-minute stretch, the Owls made 15-of-20 field goal attempts and kept it as a two-possession game until the final two minutes when Dainja took over.

The big man recorded a defensive rebound, an assist, a block, a bucket, two more blocks, an offensive rebound and a dunk all in the span of 1:24 of game play before letting out a ferocious roar after the Tigers went in front, 78-70. Jourdain made four free throws in the final minute to seal the 84-72 win.

Memphis went 5-for-5 from the floor to end the game, all while holding Rice to zero field goals in the final 3:52.

The Tigers finished 32-of-65 from the floor (49.2%) in the win, despite making a season low two three-pointers (2-13).

Four Owls reached double figures, led by 19 points and seven rebounds from Caden Powell.

POSTGAME NOTES

Memphis used the starting lineup of PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Dain Dainja for the 11^th time this season.
- They are 10-1 on the year with that group.
The Tigers improved to 12-2 at home this season and have now won 13-consecutive home contests against AAC competition.
Memphis improved to 11-2 all-time against Rice, including 5-1 at home.
Memphis totaled seven blocks and seven steals in the game.
- The Tigers have 7+ blocks in three straight games for the first time this season.
  - Three players had at least two blocks.
The Tigers finished with 15 assists to just eight turnovers.
- It's their ninth-straight game with a positive assist/turnover ratio.
  - They are averaging 18.6 assists per game in that span.
Memphis shot 18-of-23 at the free throw line for a 78.3-percent clip.
- It's the Tigers' fourth-best free throw percentage of the season.
Memphis dominated the boards, 40-29, against a team that ranked 39^th in the country in rebounding (38.6).
- The Tigers outscored the Owls, 54-32, in the paint.
Memphis grabbed 16 offensive boards and scored 18 second-chance points.
- It's the fourth-consecutive game with exactly 16 offensive rebounds for the Tigers.
Dain Dainja put up a career high 25 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks in 28 minutes.
- The big man was 11-of-14 shooting overall and recorded his fifth 20-point game in the last nine outings, including in two-straight for the first time in his career.
  - He did most of his work in the final 20 minutes with 18 points, seven boards and three blocks after halftime.
PJ Haggerty scored 21 points with five rebounds and five dimes in 36 minutes.
- He shot 7-of-19 from the floor and led the team with a 7-for-9 night at the free throw line.
  - It's the 19^th game of 20+ points for Haggerty.
Nicholas Jourdain had one of his best games as a Tiger with 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes.
- It's the most points he's scored in his Tiger career, and it's his seventh game of the year in double figures.
  - He went 7-of-10 overall and 4-for-4 at the stripe after not scoring a single point on Sunday against Florida Atlantic.
Damarien Yates came off the bench to score a career high six points in nine minutes.
- He was 2-of-2 shooting with two offensive rebounds and a steal.

UP NEXT
The Tigers head to Birmingham for a rematch with the AAC's second-place team, UAB, on Sunday at 3 p.m. before going to San Antonio to meet UTSA on Tuesday at 7 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.