Jason Edwards led North Texas with 30 points as the Memphis Tigers lost to the Mean Green in Denton 76-66. It's terrible news and likely spells doom for Memphis' at-large NCAA Tournament hopes in 2024. Not to mention North Texas didn't even have their full arsenal of players available.
David Jones' double-double 14 points and 16 rebounds wasn't enough to get Memphis over the top. The Tigers only other double-digit scorer was Jaykwon Walton who had 13 points. Jahyvon Quinerly was a disappointment with just 5 points and 3 assists on the night.
Memphis simply didn't guard the 3-point arc as North Texas shot 57.1% there on the night (16-28 from 3-point arc). The Mean Green shot a BETTER 3-point percentage than field goal percentage Thursday night in Denton (57.1 to 44.4 overall FG %).
Memphis will now try to bounce back Sunday at 3 p.m. in Dallas against SMU. Live coverage tomorrow all day on 92.9 FM ESPN, Memphis' Sports Station.
Tigers Upended at North Texas, 76-66
DENTON, Texas -- The Memphis Tigers dropped the first game of a two-game swing through the Lone Star State on Thursday night at North Texas, falling 76-66 inside the Super Pit.
The loss snapped Memphis’ (18-7, 7-5 American Athletic Conference) three-game winning streak. The Tigers have now dropped five of their last eight games after starting the season 15-2 midway through January. North Texas improved to 14-10 overall and is now tied with Memphis in the conference standings at 7-5.
David Jones led the Tigers with 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Jaykwon Walton was the only additional Tiger in double figures with 10 points. Malcolm Dandridge was effective off the bench with eight points and six boards in 21 minutes.
The Mean Green was hot from the jump, connecting on its first five attempts from three-point range and quickly built an 18-4 lead less than six minutes into the action. The Tigers rattled off a 7-0 run of their own to trim the deficit to seven, but back-to-back triples from Jason Edwards pushed it back to double-digits.
Trailing 24-13, Memphis locked in as five different Tigers recorded buckets over the next six minutes. Memphis reeled off a 12-0 run, capped by a three from Nicholas Jourdain to put the Tigers in front for the first time, 25-24.
North Texas, however, hit three of its final-four shots of the first half to take a 33-30 lead into the break.
Memphis battled in the early minutes of the second period, but after getting to within one at 39-38, the Mean Green went on an 18-4 spurt to go in front by 15 and never looked back.
The Tigers managed to cut it to 71-66 with 1:47 to play following a triple from Jones and a slam from Dandridge, but the shots weren’t falling as North Texas closed out the 76-66 win.
Jason Edwards led all players with 30 points on 7-of-9 shooting from three-point range. John Buggs III and Rondel Walker added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Mean Green finished the night with a 57.1-percent clip from beyond the arc on 16-of-28 shooting.
UP NEXT
Memphis will stay in Texas to get ready for a Sunday bout with SMU at 3 p.m. on ESPN in Dallas.
POSTGAME NOTES
• Memphis used the starting lineup of Jahvon Quinerly , David Jones , Jaykwon Walton , Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Nicholas Jourdain for the third-straight game.
• Memphis shot just 37.3-percent overall in the loss after going 22-of-59 from the field.
• It was the second-lowest field goal percentage of the season for the Tigers.
• North Texas’ 16 three-pointers were the second-most allowed this season by the Tigers. UTSA hit 17 in an overtime loss.
• The Tigers outrebounded the Mean Green 37-33, including 16-10 on the offensive end.
• David Jones recorded his fourth-straight double-double despite a 2-for-13 night from the field.
• It was the first time since Nov. 24 against Villanova that the senior forward failed to reach at least 17 points in a game.
• His 16 boards were a season high and one shy of his career high set in November of 2021.
• Nicholas Jourdain finished with nine points and tied for the team-high with three assists.
• He shot 4-of-7 from the floor and swiped a pair of steals in 22 minutes.
• Jahvon Quinerly recorded eight points, four rebounds and three dimes, while Nae’Qwan Tomlin totaled seven points.
• Memphis managed just six points off 13 North Texas turnovers.
• The Tigers outscored the Mean Green 24-14 in the paint and 18-12 off the bench.
• North Texas led for 38:10 of the contest.
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