Field Level Media
Jan 25, 2020
Kendric Davis led four players scoring in double figures as visiting SMU rallied from a late 11-point deficit to post a 74-70 victory over No. 20 Memphis on Saturday.
The Mustangs (15-4, 5-2 American Athletic Conference), closed the game on a 15-0 run over the final 6:01, erasing a 70-59 deficit and handing Memphis its second consecutive AAC loss.
The Tigers (14-5, 3-3) dropped an 80-40 decision on Wednesday at Tulsa. It is the most lopsided defeat a Top 25-ranked team sustained to an unranked opponent in 27 years.
Memphis outpaced its point total from the last outing by halftime on Saturday, taking a 41-32 lead into intermission. Precious Achiuwa scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half for the Tigers.
The Memphis lead peaked at 12 points with 7:08 remaining when Achiuwa scored his only points of the second half. He was one of four Tigers to score in double figures, led by D.J. Jeffries with 18. Boogie Ellis added 14 points and Lester Quinones had 10 points and three steals.
SMU matched Memphis with four scorers in double figures, paced by Davis' game-high 20 points. He also dished five assists and grabbed the last of his three rebounds in the waning seconds to help preserve the win.
Emmanuel Bandoumel scored 14 points, Isiaha Mike scored 13 points and grabbed six rebonds, and Tyson Jolly had 10 points with nine rebounds.
Memphis connected on a higher percentage of its shot attempts from the floor than SMU, including going 9 of 20 (45.0 percent) from behind the 3-point line. The Mustangs shot 11-for-34 for a 32.4 percentage.
SMU committed 13 turnovers to 11 for Memphis.
Despite cutting down on turnovers, the Tigers' offense stagnated over the final six minutes. Memphis committed three of its 11 turnovers in that stretch and missed shots from all over the floor: 3-point attempts, mid-range jumpers and layups.
Tyler Harris came up short on an attempt in the lane with 13 seconds left and Memphis down three points. Achiuwa forced a quick steal, but his attempted game-tying 3-point attempt was off the mark.
--Field Level Media