Big day. The iPad is introduced. The president delivers the state of the union.
And the Tigers earn their biggest win of the season to date, a 75-72 victory at Marshall.
No question, the road win against the Thundering Herd (a team that entered the game with a record of 15-4 and tied with Memphis in C-USA at 4-1) is the most significant notch in Josh Pastner’s belt as a rookie coach.
Following last week’s loss against UTEP at FedExForum, Pastner emphasized a simple reality: “Now that we’ve given one away at home, we have to get one back on the road.”
Thanks to clutch shooting from Roburt Sallie and 24 points from Elliot Williams, the Tigers “got one back.” Sallie drained a pair of free throws with six seconds left after Marshall’s Shaquille Johnson missed two free throws that would have given the home team the lead with nine seconds to play.
Junior center Will Coleman had his best game in weeks, with 12 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Tigers. Memphis recovered after allowing Marshall to go on a 20-7 run to open the second half (the Tigers led at halftime, 36-26).
Next up for the 15-5 Tigers: a trip to SMU this Saturday.
