Three days after a so-called “statement win” over UCF, the Tigers found themselves on the receiving end of a statement at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane — 2-6 in the American Athletic Conference at tip-off — seized command over the game’s opening ten minutes and cruised to the victory. Daquan Jeffries played like the all-conference candidate he is, scoring a game-high 25 points. Curran Scott added 20 to help Tulsa improve to 13-9 for the season.
Freshman guard Tyler Harris scored 18 points — all of them after halftime — to help Memphis stay within nine or ten points late in the contest, but the Tigers couldn’t slow the Tulsa attack for any comeback to prove fruitful. The Tigers got no closer than nine points (80-71 with 4:45 to play) after trailing by 17 (48-31) at halftime. The loss is the Tigers’ fourth straight at Tulsa.
Kyvon Davenport scored 12 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Jeremiah Martin and Raynere Thornton added 14 points each. The Tigers shot 41 percent from the field (Tulsa hit 55 percent) and fell to 13-8 for the season (5-3 in the AAC). Memphis suffered 17 turnovers while handing out but 12 assists.
Now 1-4 in true road games this season, the Tigers visit USF (14-6) Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m.
