Parker's 40-Point Heater Buries UAB

Thursday, February 5

Birmingham, Ala.

8:00 PM

University of Memphis

11-11,6-4American

UAB

14-9,5-5American

Memphis

UAB

Feb 05, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – When Memphis men's basketball needed a spark on the road, Sincere Parker delivered a full-blown inferno.

Parker erupted for a career-high 40 points and ignited multiple game-changing runs to lift the Tigers to a 90-80 victory over UAB Thursday night inside Bartow Arena. The Tigers improved to 11-11 overall and 6-4 in American Conference play, while the Blazers slipped to 14-9 and 5-5. Parker's 40-point outburst marked the most points scored by any player inside Bartow Arena since at least the 2016-17 season.

The senior guard was nearly unstoppable, shooting 14-of-20 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range while adding six rebounds and four assists in just under 26 minutes.

From the opening minutes, Parker had the hot hand. He scored 16 points in a blistering four-minute stretch early in the first half, helping Memphis race out to a double-digit lead. By halftime, he already had 22 points as the Tigers carried a 44-35 advantage into the break.

UAB chipped away in the second half and trimmed the deficit to a single point, but Parker answered again. The senior guard ripped off his second 11-point run of the night - knocking down deep threes and attacking the rim - to push the Memphis lead back out to 70-61 with 8:58 to play. Each time the Blazers threatened, Parker had a response. UAB never got closer than seven points the rest of the night.

Memphis shot 52.4 percent from the floor (33-of-63) and assisted on 15 of its made field goals, controlling the game for long stretches. The Tigers led for more than 34 minutes and never trailed after taking the lead midway through the first half.

Aaron Bradshaw finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Thierno Sylla added season highs of nine points and eight boards in 30 minutes, while Curtis Givens III contributed eight points and five rebounds. Julius Thedford chipped in six points and five boards and Quante Berry added seven points off the bench.

Memphis' depth made a difference throughout the night, as the Tigers' bench outscored UAB's reserves 59-28. The Tigers also turned defense into offense, finishing with 21 fast-break points and forcing 13 turnovers that led to 12 points.

Chance Westry led UAB with 15 points and six assists, while Salim London added 14 points and Jacob Meyer chipped in 13.

With the win, Memphis picked up just its second road victory of the season and its fifth straight win over UAB.

POSTGAME NOTES

Starting Five: Memphis opened with a starting lineup of Dug McDaniel, Quante Berry, Julius Thedford, Aaron Bradshaw and Simon Majok.
- It's the third-straight game that five has started.
Shooting: Memphis shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the floor and went 8-of-20 from beyond the three-point line (40.0%). The Tigers also connected on 16-of-21 at the free throw stripe (76.2%).
- It's the second-highest field goal percentage this season for the Tigers.
- Memphis has now connected on eight or more triples in a game 10 times this season.
Turnovers: Memphis committed 16 turnovers, which the Blazers turned into 25 points.
- It's the second most points a team has scored off turnovers against the Tigers this season (UNLV - 30).
Defense: The Tigers limited the Blazers to 37.9 percent shooting overall (25-of-66), including a 24.3-percent mark from long range (9-of-37).
- Memphis has now held 13 opponents to under 30 percent from three-point range this season, including six in conference play.
- The Tigers swiped eight steals in the win and forced 13 UAB miscues.
Bench Production: Memphis got a season high 59 points from its bench, besting the previous mark of 50 against Southern Illinois on Nov. 26.
Rebounding: Memphis and UAB each hauled in 39 rebounds with the Blazers controlling the offensive glass, 16-9.
- The Tigers scored 21 points on fast breaks, just one point shy of matching their season high.
- Five different Tigers grabbed five or more rebounds.
Ball Movement: Memphis and UAB each dished out 15 assists.
Sincere Parker dropped a career-high 40 points with six rebounds and two assists in just 26 minutes. He is only the 12^th Tiger in program history to score 40 points in a game.
- He shot 14-of-20 from the floor, 6-of-8 from three-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
- It's the first 20-point half for any Memphis player this season and the first since PJ Haggerty scored 21 points in each half against Wichita State in the quarterfinals of the American Conference Tournament on March 14, 2025.
- He is the first Division I player since at least 1996-97 to record 40 points, six made three-pointers and shoot 100 percent at the free-throw line (min. five attempts) in 26 minutes or less.
- He is just the fifth player in DI this season with 40 points off the bench and only the second to score that many in 26 or fewer minutes.
Aaron Bradshaw was the only other double-digit scorer for Memphis with 12 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.
- He has now scored 10-plus points in four straight games and in seven of the last eight.
Thierno Sylla recorded season highs of nine points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes.
- He was 4-of-7 from the field and had not scored more than four points in a game this season prior.

UP NEXT
Memphis continues play on Super Bowl Sunday, returning to FedExForum for a 1 p.m. tilt with Charlotte, who is tied for second in the league at 7-3.

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.