The Tigers earned their first victory away from FedExForum this season Saturday afternoon, and in thrilling fashion at Temple. Kareem Brewton connected on a three-pointer from beyond 20 feet with just under a second to play in overtime to give Memphis its first road win since last February (a span of 11 games). After blowing a nine-point lead over the last nine minutes of regulation, the Tigers erased a four-point deficit in the final minute of overtime.
The win improves Memphis to 12-6 for the season and 3-2 in American Athletic Conference play, while Temple falls to 8-9 (1-5).
Jeremiah Martin had his third straight stellar game for Memphis, scoring 26 points, dishing out six assists, and scoring a critical basket after an offensive rebound in overtime to reduce Temple’s lead to two points (72-70) before Brewton’s heroics. The junior from Mitchell High School has scored 28, 31, and 26 points over the Tigers’ last three games, all wins over AAC foes.
Memphis won its third straight game despite committing 19 turnovers (eight of them by Martin) and allowing Temple 23 offensive rebounds.
The second half became a bizarre sequence of runs, the Tigers taking an eight-point lead (45-37) with a 13-0 run, only to allow Temple to regain the lead with a 9-0 stretch. The Tigers answered with a 10-0 run for a 55-46 lead, but the Owls responded by scoring the next nine points to tie the game. Temple forward Obi Enechionyia hit a three-pointer from the left corner to tie the game at 61 with just over a minute to play in regulation, the final points either team would score before the extra session.
Owl freshman Nate Pierre-Louis led the home team with 23 points and hit a pair of three-pointers in overtime that seemed to secure the game for Temple. But Alani Moore missed the front end of a one-and-one at the foul stripe — Temple leading 72-70 at the time — to keep the door open for Memphis. Tiger senior Jimario Rivers hit a pair of free throws with less than a second to play to provide the final three-point margin.
Brewton finished with 10 points off the bench, Mike Parks scored 12 (with seven rebounds) and Kyvon Davenport had 10 points (and eight rebounds) for Memphis.
The Tigers return to FedExForum Tuesday night to host Connecticut. The Huskies beat Tulane Saturday to improve to 10-7 (3-2). Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
