Knowing I’d miss dinner tonight, one of my daughters slipped a Starburst fruit chew into my coat pocket before I headed downtown to the arena. As sweet as the gesture was, I never should have eaten that candy.
It was orange.
The Tigers’ much-talked-about winning streak in Conference USA play came to an end at the hands of the Miners. This was the first such loss in the careers of seniors Willie Kemp, Doneal Mack, and Pierre Henderson-Niles. (Out of character, Mack wouldn’t even talk with the media after the game.) And it was the fifth consecutive home loss the Tigers have suffered at the hands of a team wearing orange. (Though they handled Houston Baptist on January 3rd.)
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Tiger senior Willie Kemp suffered his first C-USA loss
They may have been wearing orange, but it was a contingent of Memphis friends who pulled off this upset, if it can be called such. UTEP guard Randy Culpepper scored 13 points and Jeremy Williams added 18 points and 12 rebounds to steal the show in their hometown. Miner coach Tony Barbee (a longtime assistant to John Calipari at Memphis) employed a bench that outscored the Tiger reserves 33-10, with Christian Polk draining three of five three-point attempts.
