Jahvon Quinerly drilled a 3-pointer with four seconds left as No. 15 Memphis survived blowing a seven-point lead in 17 seconds during the final minute, outlasting host Tulsa 78-75 on Thursday night.
The Tigers (12-2, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) led 75-68 with 1:03 remaining after Nick Jourdain notched a putback dunk but the Golden Hurricane (9-4, 0-1) rallied. Carlous Williams made a jumper, then Cobe Williams scored five points off two turnovers to tie the game with 33 seconds on the clock.
But Quinerly, whose offensive foul preceded Tulsa’s game-tying 3-pointer, made up for that mistake with the game-winner that extended Memphis’ winning streak to seven games.
Five players reached double figures for the Tigers, led by David Jones and Nae’Qwan Tomlin with 17 points apiece. Quinerly and Jaykwon Walton contributed 11 points apiece and Malcolm Dandridge added 10.
Redshirt freshman guard PJ Haggerty starred in defeat for Tulsa with a game-high 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Haggerty shot 10-for-19 from the field and kept his team in contention with 17 first-half points.
Carlous Williams added 16 points for the Golden Hurricane on 6-of-8 shooting and Cobe Williams scored 10 despite making only 3 of 14 attempts.
Most of the game’s first half was a contest between Memphis’ balance and Tulsa’s reliance on Haggerty, who kept the Golden Hurricane in contention when most of his teammates couldn’t buy a shot. He scored 11 points in the first 8:08 to lift the Golden Hurricane into an 18-18 tie.
But beginning with Jayden Hardaway’s 3-pointer with 11:28 left, the Tigers controlled the remainder of the half, scoring from almost every spot on the floor. They ripped off 12 straight points for a 33-20 lead with 6:34 left.
Tulsa crawled back within five later in the half, but another Memphis run gave it a comfortable 49-35 advantage at the break. Walton finished a 14-5 burst by making two foul shots with four seconds remaining.
–Field Level Media