Tigers fought back to beat Bulls
The last time the USF Bulls laced’em up in the FedEx Forum, they left with a 75 -73 victory over the Memphis Tigers. The Tigers were without Malcolm Dandridge and DJ Jefferies. Precious and Lance both left the game early with injuries. The following month, the Tigers would suffer a loss on the road to Houston. At the time the Tigers were still without DJ Jefferies. I got the opportunity to have a brief conversation with Mr. Jefferies at that game. The one thing he said that stuck with me is “Man I miss being out there. I know I could have done SOMETHING to help us win some of the games we lost.”
That conversation is the first thing that came to my mind when DJ blocked Caleb Murphy’s last second layup that would have given the Bulls another win in the Forum. Jefferies finished the game with 6 points and 3 rebounds. No stat was more critical to the Tigers 58-57 victory than one of Jefferies’ two blocks. He did SOMETHING to help his team win a game that was slipping through their fingers.
During his routine media availability ahead of todays game, Coach Hardaway said that he was installing a new offense for the team, The Lion. Hardaway has previously used The Lion at the high school and AAU level.
The Lion resulted in only 25 first half points for the Tigers. I know, doesn’t sound impressive, but the Tigers looked like an improved team to start the game.
At the 8:33 mark in the first half, The Tigers wer up nine points over th USF Bulls. ( 21-12) From there USF outscored the Tigers 11-4 to close out the first half.
USF came out strong in the second half, jumping to a ten point (46-36) lead. With just under 5 minutes left in the game, the Tigers regain the lead (51-48) on a Quinones three pointer.
The smartest thing Penny did all night was sub Moussa out and put DJ in. Caleb Murphy had been having his way with Moussa all night. DJ ends up blocking Caleb Murphy’s, would be game winning lay up attempt as time ran out. Tigers win 58-57.
The Tigers aren’t in action again until next year. Relax, it’s only four days away. Jan 2, 2021 at 11 am, the Tigers will tip off on the road at Temple. Five of the Tigers seven January games are on the road. Your Memphis Tigers will be back in the FedEx Forum on Jan. 14th to host the SMU Mustangs.