Memphis Bounces Back: Beats SIU 74-58
The Memphis Tigers, led by guard Dug McDaniel, dominated the Southern Illinois Salukis in their return to the FedExForum after the final-second loss vs Wake Forest. McDaniel, alongside Julius Thedford led the team in scoring with 15 points. The Tigers improved to 2-4.
First Half
The Tigers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and kept that advantage for the remainder of the game. The Tigers led by nine with 10 minutes left to play in the half.
Over the next 4:30, the Salukis did cut the lead to two with a 10-3 run, but never overtook the Tigers. Memphis quickly corrected itself and went back up nine.
Quante Berry scored the last eight points for the Tigers, including back-to-back triples to end the half. This pushed the Memphis advantage to 42-29 going into the locker rooms. Berry finished the game with those eight points and fouled out.
Second Half
The Tigers took care of business in the second half, never allowing the Salukis to close the gap to single digits. Memphis maintained its 11 plus point lead for the opening minutes of the half.
Then with 13:46 to go, the Tigers put together a 12-2 run that extended their lead to 21, the highest of the game. Aaron Bradshaw scored eight of his 14 points in this run, six coming from the foul line. Bradshaw was a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.
Memphis did not let SIU back into the game. The Tigers were never in danger of losing the lead and played like they were the better team.
Memphis came out victorious with a 74-58 win.
Notable Stats
Memphis shot 25-58(43.1%) from the floor and 8-22(36.4%) from the perimeter. They also shot extremely well at the foul line, 16-20. Memphis committed 15 turnovers to just 14 assists, however, Dug McDaniel finished with five assists and only two turnovers.
Memphis got 44 combined points from McDaniel, Thedford, and Bradshaw. If these three can build on this much-needed win, and performance, then Memphis’ future looks a little brighter.
The Tigers will host the New Orleans Privateers (2-5) on Wednesday at 7p.m. This is another opportunity for Memphis to find themselves.
