Field Level Media
Nov 23, 2019
Freshman Precious Achiuwa set a career high with 25 points and added 11 rebounds, and freshman D.J. Jeffries had a career-high 23 points when the host No. 16 Memphis Tigers held off the Mississippi Rebels 87-86 on Saturday afternoon.
Alex Lomax had 14 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, and Tyler Harris had a season-high points 15 points and three 3-pointers for the Tigers (5-1), who won their third straight game while freshman James Wiseman serves a 12-game NCAA suspension.
Breein Tyree had 24 points, Blake Hinson had 15 points and four 3-pointers and KJ Buffen had 13 points and six rebounds before fouling out for Ole Miss (4-1), which closed on a 32-19 run but never caught up.
Achiuwa, a 6-foot-9 forward, scored seven of the Tigers' final nine first-half points for a 45-38 halftime lead, then scored the Tigers' first seven points in the second half. His layup with 11:19 left gave Memphis a 64-48 advantage, their largest, before Ole Miss rallied.
Devontae Shuler hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left to bring the Rebels within five at 83-78, and Tyree's layup closed it to 83-80 with 16.1 seconds remaining. Jeffries made a free throw before Tyree's dunk with 9.2 seconds left made it 84-82.
After Harris hit a free throw, Memphis called a timeout and had Harris foul Tyree to prevent a 3-point attempt. Tyree made the first free throw but missed the second, and Jeffries converted a breakaway dunk for an 87-83 lead. Hinson hit a 3 from midcourt as time expired.
The Tigers shot 51.7 percent from the field and had 52 points in the paint. Ole Miss shot 39.4 percent but stayed close by making 12 of 27 3-point attempts. Hinson's second 3-pointer with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half gave Ole Miss its largest lead at 26-22 before the Tigers scored the final seven points of the half while closing on a 20-10 run.
Hinson, a 6-7 sophomore, played his first game after sitting out the first four games with a "blood abnormality," first diagnosed in late August. He averaged 8.1 points while starting 31 games a year ago.
--Field Level Media