Less than 24 hours after staggering through 40 minutes of an ugly dance with Providence, the Tigers found their shooting touch and beat Iowa in the consolation game of the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Florida. Dedric Lawson hit 15 of 22 shots from the field and scored a career-high 35 points to lead Memphis as the Tigers improved to 5-1 and earned their first win over a major-conference opponent this season. Lawson added 11 rebounds, while his older brother, K.J. Lawson, scored 17 points and grabbed 10 boards for the brothers’ fourth tandem double-double of the season. Dedric played 38 minutes while K.J. logged 39.
Markel Crawford added 16 points, Jeremiah Martin 14, and Craig Randall 15 off the bench in helping the Tigers reach 100 points for the second time in five days. The Tigers shot 56 percent from the field and needed the marksmanship as the Hawkeyes hit 54 percent of their shots. Peter Jok scored a game-high 42 points for Iowa.
The Tigers return home Wednesday night when Jackson State visits FedExForum. Tip-off is 8 p.m.
