In a town known for hangovers, the Tigers showed some strong recovery powers in beating Larry Bird’s alma mater tonight in the consolation game of the Las Vegas Invitational. In spite of the game tipping off merely 18 hours after a drubbing at the hands of Baylor, Memphis surged over the latter 10 minutes of the first half, outscoring the Sycamores, 29-5, to take control of a game they’d lead the rest of the way.
Indiana State took an early 17-11 lead, but the Tigers tied things at 17 on a dunk by Shaq Goodwin with 8:53 to play before halftime. Back-to-back three pointers by guard Avery Woodson closed the first-half scoring at 40-22, Tigers.
The U of M extended the lead to 20 (46-26) before going cold in the second half. The Sycamores closed within seven points (56-49) on a three-pointer by center Jake Kitchell with 2:19 left to play. But Kitchell fouled out 20 seconds later and the Tigers hit their free throws down the stretch, outscoring Indiana State 10-8 over the game’s final minute to even their record at 2-2.
The Tigers shot 46 percent from the field and limited the Sycamores to 33 percent. Goodwin led Memphis in the scoring column with a season-high 19 points. Trahson Burrell came off the bench to score 15 and was joined by Woodson (12), Nick King (11), and Austin Nichols (10) in double figures. Brenton Scott led Indiana State with 12 off the bench.
The Tigers will play their next nine games at FedExForum, starting next Tuesday when they host Stephen F. Austin. They won’t play another road game until they visit SMU on January 8, 2015.
