If this most mercurial of Tiger basketball seasons takes a turn for the better, we may remember it happened with a game-winning three pointer tonight in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Down by 18 points in the first half against a Southern Miss team that was setting the early pace in the Conference USA standings, Memphis stormed back to win on a trey by junior Charles Carmouche from the left wing with less than a second to play.
Down by nine points midway through the second half, the Tigers found their shooting touch and earned their first road win of the season, even with senior center Will Coleman missing the last seven minutes after fouling out. Freshman guard Chris Crawford hit a pair of three-pointers and Will Barton drained a trey with 3:16 left on the clock to give the Tigers a 69-66 lead.
Golden Eagle guard R.L. Horton sandwiched a pair of field goals around a charging foul he drew from Tiger point guard Joe Jackson, giving Southern Miss a 74-73 lead with less than a minute left on the clock. But Horton missed a crucial free throw with 6.7 seconds left to leave just enough opening for Carmouche to cement his name in the Tiger history books.
With 11 points, Carmouche was one of four Tigers to reach double figures (Jackson had 10, Will Barton 15, and Crawford 12). Overall, Memphis made 9 of 17 from beyond the arc.
The Tigers improve to 14-4 (3-1 in C-USA), while Southern Miss — now losers of 15 straight in this series — drop to 14-4 (3-2). The U of M is on the road again Saturday against UAB.
