The games go on, as they must.
Two days after Karim Azab lost his eight-month battle with leukemia, his teammates took the floor at FedExForum and won the most scintillating game the barn has seen in years. Down 81-75 with 1:40 left to play in regulation, the Tigers clawed back to tie it on three Tyler Harris free throws with 2.9 seconds left on the clock. Down 96-91 with 48 seconds to play in the first overtime period, the Tigers clawed back to tie it with free throws from Jeremiah Martin and Kyvon Davenport (one each) with less than 10 seconds to play.
Larry Kuzniewski
Tyler Harris
In the second overtime — coach Penny Hardaway’s sport coat in the hands of an assistant — the Tiger defense stopped Yale on five consecutive possessions, taking command on field goals from Martin, Kareem Brewton (a three-pointer), and Alex Lomax. Wearing a patch with their fallen teammate’s initials on their uniforms, the Tigers improved to 2-1 despite missing 19 of an astounding 56 free throws.
“We were against the ropes,” said Martin. “But we stuck together as a team. I knew we were gonna win. No matter the situation or circumstance, we’d find a way out of it. For Karim, we wouldn’t want to lose. We were going to lay it all on the line.”
“When we got down, I thought about Karim in overtime,” added Davenport. “And he helped us get through it.”
The Tigers survived an onslaught by Bulldog guard Alex Copeland, who scored all 13 of his team’s points in the first overtime. They survived despite not hitting a three-pointer until the second half, despite Yale out-shooting them from the field and charity stripe. The Tigers won despite any player grabbing as many as 10 rebounds or handing out more than five assists.
“I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it,” said Hardaway after the game, now 2-0 at home as a head coach. “We didn’t have our best stuff. [Yale] made shots. We knew they were good, and in person they were great. We just outlasted them.”
Team strength can be measured in various ways, and it typically takes a few weeks to identify just how strong a squad might be collectively. After a tough loss at LSU last Tuesday and Azab’s death Thursday, the 2018-19 Tigers are summoning strength they may not have known they had. “I’ve learned these guys are resilient,” said Hardaway. “They’re tougher than I gave them credit for. You come back at LSU and take the lead, you’ve got a tough team.”
Harris led Memphis with 22 points and called on a higher power for the clutch free throws at the end of regulation. “That was one of the hardest moments of my life,” said the freshman from Cordova. “I prayed to God and He came through for me.”
Hardaway wasn’t sure of the Biblical proportions, but he was confident Harris would make the three free throws after missing one earlier in the second half. “That’s the way Tyler is,” said the rookie coach. “He relishes that moment, to stick the dagger in. I knew he was gonna make all three. He’s built for that.”
Larry Kuzniewski
Penny Hardaway
Martin struggled early but finished with 20 points, five assists, and three steals in 42 minutes of action. Brewton scored 12 points off the bench and Mike Parks scored 11 in a reserve role. (Parks started the first overtime.) Davenport and Isaiah Maurice each scored 10 points and Lomax added 13. Hardaway’s prize freshman recruits were integral in the win, Harris playing 39 minutes and Lomax 35.
The Coach Hardaway Era has already had heartbreak — of the most severe kind — and it’s now had a double-overtime thriller in front of more than 14,000 fans at FedExForum. The new face of a program he led so brilliantly as a player is comfortable with the emotional extremes. “I’ve had so many close games in my career [as a player and high school coach],” he said. “I’ve learned from the wins and the losses.”
The Tigers will travel to Orlando for three games at the Advocare Invitational Thanksgiving weekend. They tip off against Oklahoma State on Thanksgiving day at 3 p.m. They won’t return to FedExForum until December 4th, when South Dakota State comes to town.
