Memphis left no doubt on Thursday night (2/29) at East Carolina what they wanted to accomplish. The Tigers blasted the East Carolina Pirates 82-58 while shooting 57% from the field. Nae'Qwan Tomlin continued his leadership and hot play scoring 20 points, collecting 5 rebounds, and making 2 blocks in the win.
David Jones continued his case for national award considerations with his double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds.
East Carolina was led by guard RJ Felton who had 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Next Memphis Tigers Game: Memphis vs. UAB at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday (3/3) on ESPN 2 live from FedExForum
Tigers Sink Pirates,
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The University of Memphis men’s basketball team closed out the month of February with its third-straight win Thursday night at East Carolina, coming away with an 82-58 victory over the Pirates at Minges Coliseum in an American Athletic Conference matchup.
With the win, Memphis (21-8, 10-6 AAC) has earned 10 conference victories for the seventh-consecutive season.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin powered the Tigers with 20 points, while David Jones logged another double-double behind 18 points and 10 rebounds. Nicholas Jourdain added 14 points and Jahvon Quinerly finished with 10 points, a game-high seven assists, four steals and four rebounds.
It took nearly four minutes before the first point was scored by either team, but once a bucket fell through, Memphis took control. The Tigers held the Pirates (14-14, 7-8 AAC) to just 24.2-percent shooting in the first 20 minutes to take a 36-24 advantage into the locker room.
If there was any worry of a letdown in the second half, Memphis put those concerns to bed early. The Tigers came roaring out of the break and hit eight of the first 10 shots to extend the advantage to 21 at 55-34.
East Carolina cut it to 15 with an 8-2 run, but behind 58.6-percent shooting in the final 20 minutes, the Tigers put the Pirates away over the final five minutes.
The Pirates were led by RJ Felton ’s 19 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Johnson added 16 points and eight boards.
UP NEXT
The Tigers conclude the week with their home finale Sunday afternoon at FedExForum against UAB. The senior day contest will get under way at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Memphis will then get a week off before traveling to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic in the final matchup of the regular season on CBS. The AAC Tournament then runs March 13-17 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
POSTGAME NOTES
Memphis used the starting lineup of Jahvon Quinerly , David Jones , Nae’Qwan Tomlin , Nicholas Jourdain and Jaykwon Walton for the fifth time this season.
The Tigers improved to 4-1 with that starting group.
Memphis improved to 26-5 all-time against ECU, while Penny Hardaway improved to 8-1 as head coach.
The Tigers improved to 10-4 all-time in Greenville.
Memphis shot 57.1 percent (32-56) from the floor, its second-highest field goal percentage of the season.
Under Hardaway, the Tigers improved to 51-2 when shooting 50.0 percent.
The Tigers outscored the Pirates 44-28 in the paint and 34-5 off the fast break.
The 34 points are the most this season for Memphis.
The Tigers scored 17 points off 17 ECU miscues.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin ’s 20 points give him his third-career game with 20 points.
The Harlem, New York native has scored in double figures nine times in the last 10 outings after shooting 7-8 from the floor.
David Jones grabbed his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
He's recorded a double-double in six of the last seven games.
The Dominican Republic native also added a season-high five assists and three steals.
Nicholas Jourdain reached double figures for the eighth time this season.
He was 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed four rebounds.
Jahvon Quinerly led the game with seven assists and four steals.
Memphis led 36:12 of the game.
Most Popular
Comments / 0