It appears one game was all the American Athletic Conference’s top scorer needed to regain his form. Tiger point guard Jeremiah Martin returned to the starting lineup after missing his team’s win at SMU earlier this week (nursing a hip injury) and led all scorers with 22 points to help Memphis even its AAC record at 7-7 and improve to 16-11 overall.
The Tigers withstood a late 16-8 run by the Green Wave that closed the Memphis lead to three points (66-63) with 11 seconds left to play. But freshman guard Jamal Johnson drained a pair of free throws for the game’s final points, enough for the Tigers’ first road winning streak of the season. (Memphis is now 4-7 away from FedExForum.)
Mike Parks scored 15 points and Kyvon Davenport added 10 (including an emphatic put-back dunk in the game’s final minute) to support the Tiger cause. Memphis shot 54 percent from the field and held Tulane to 39 percent. Jordan Cornish and Melvin Frazier each scored 16 points for the Green Wave. Tulane is the first and only AAC team Memphis has swept this season, the Tigers also having won the teams’ first meeting in January.
The Tigers return to FedExForum Thursday night where they’ll host Houston. The Cougars improved to 20-5 last Thursday with an upset of 5th-ranked Cincinnati. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
