Field Level Media
Dec 3, 2019
No. 15 Memphis overcame a poor shooting night by limiting visiting Bradley to 26.8 percent field-goal shooting Tuesday, taking a 71-56 nonconference win.
Reserve guard Alex Lomax paced the Tigers (7-1) with 17 points while Boogie Ellis hit for 12. D.J. Jeffries and Tyler Harris scored 10 points each for Memphis, which converted only 36.1 percent of its attempts from the floor and was outrebounded 55-47.
However, that was positively scalding compared with the Braves (5-3). After going 13 of 23 from 3-point range in a Nov. 27 win over Kansas State, they made a pitiful 2 of 23 from the arc Tuesday. Leading scorer Darrell Brown, a senior who played on current Tigers coach Penny Hardaway's AAU teams for four years, was held to four points on 1-of-16 shooting.
Elijah Childs carried the load for Bradley with game-high totals of 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Danya Kingsby scored 12 points off the bench. The Braves didn't take full advantage of 23 offensive rebounds, managing just 19 points.
Memphis led by as many as 18 points in the second half, although Bradley was able to pull within 10 with 2:49 remaining before the Tigers finally extinguished any upset hopes.
The die was cast for this one right away. Bradley didn't score until more than four minutes passed, finally getting a jump hook by Childs. The Braves were able to defend and rebound with the higher-ranked opponent but simply couldn't reward themselves on offense.
When Lomax drove for a layup with 9:50 left in the first half, Memphis held a 14-4 lead. Bradley was able to make one spurt, pulling within 16-14 at the 6:29 mark when Kingsby canned a pullup jumper in transition.
The half's remainder belonged to the Tigers. They allowed just five more points, taking a 29-19 lead to the break when Lomax went one-on-one, pulled up from left of the foul line and drained a jumper. He finished the half with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
--Field Level Media