Playing without the American Athletic Conference’s leading scorer, the Tigers ended a three-game losing streak Wednesday night at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. Four of the five Memphis starters — including point guard Jeremiah Martin’s replacement, Kareem Brewton — scored in double figures to help the Tigers improve to 15-11 for the season and 6-7 in the AAC.
The Mustangs took the floor without the AAC’s second-leading scorer, Shake Milton, and battled to the final play of the game, a midcourt heave by Jahmal McMurray that fell inches short of tying the contest. McMurray scored 33 points and hit nine of 19 shots from three-point range. Exposing a distinct Tiger weakness, SMU hit 14 three-pointers, but nonetheless lost for the fifth time in six games to fall to 15-11 (5-8 in the AAC).
Junior forward Kyvon Davenport hit a driving layup as the shot clock expired with 11 seconds left to give the Tigers a 69-65 lead. After SMU scored following an offensive rebound, freshman guard Jamal Johnson hit one of two free throws before McMurray’s desperation toss.
Memphis hit nine of 20 three-point attempts, its most in a game since December 9th. Center Mike Parks led in the scoring column with 17 points, followed by Brewton (16), Davenport (13), Raynere Thornton (12 off the bench), and Johnson (10).
The victory is a small measure of revenge for the Tigers. In the 2016-17 regular-season finale, Memphis absorbed a 41-point beating at Moody, among the worst losses in the history of the program.
The Tigers will get a chance to even their league record Saturday when they travel to Tulane to face the Green Wave. Memphis won the first meeting between the teams, 96-89, on January 9th.
