The Tigers’ modest two-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday night at SMU. Despite shooting merely 34 percent from the field — typical of Memphis opponents this season — the Mustangs improved to 19-8 for the season and moved ahead of the Tigers by one game in the American Athletic Conference with a league record of 9-6. At 8-7, Memphis is now sixth in the 12-team league and 19-9 overall.
The Tigers fell behind by 12 (32-20) at halftime, but scored the first 10 points of the second half. Sloppy possessions, though, proved the Tigers’ undoing. They committed 21 turnovers, their highest total in six games. Both teams shot miserably from long distance, Memphis going five for 21 and SMU two for 21, but the Mustangs connected on 18 of 22 free throws while the Tigers made 12 of 14 from the charity stripe.
Tyson Jolly led SMU with 13 points, while Precious Achiuwa (17) and Lester Quinones (16) were the only Tigers to reach double figures in the scoring column. Memphis received a total of nine points from its bench.
The Tigers travel to New Orleans to face Tulane Saturday night. Memphis beat the Green Wave at FedExForum, 84-73, on December 30th.
