The Tigers rallied from 20 points down Saturday at Bartow Arena in Birmingham to beat a longtime rival and improve to 8-1 on the season. Memphis shot horribly in the first half — Precious Achiuwa, Boogie Ellis, and Damion Baugh missed all 15 of their combined attempts — and fell behind the Blazers, 40-26, at the break.
Led by Achiuwa, though, the Tigers rallied and ultimately pulled away for their sixth straight win, all without suspended star James Wiseman. (Wiseman has now completed half of the NCAA-mandated 12-game suspension he’s serving for moving expenses Penny Hardaway gave his family two years ago.) Achiuwa finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes. D.J. Jeffries and Alex Lomax each scored 10 points for the Tigers.
After 25-percent shooting over the game’s first 20 minutes, Memphis hit 14 of 26 shots (54 percent) in the second half. The Tigers prevailed despite being outrebounded, 40-32, and committing more turnovers (16) than assists (9).
Jalen Benjamin led UAB (4-4) with 17 points.
The Tigers travel to Knoxville to face 21st-ranked Tennessee next Saturday.
