After back-to-back losses last week, Memphis got back into the win column with a 27-point home win over FAU.
Before the game, the American released its availability report, and Dug McDaniel, Sincere Parker and Hasan Abdul Hakim were all listed as questionable. Shortly after, it was reported that Curtis Givens III wouldn’t play due to an injury.
McDaniel and Parker both played, while Abdul Hakim missed the game. On the other side, FAU also dealt with some injuries, and it had to play without its top two leading scorers, Devin Vanterpool and Canaan Carlyle.
With Givens out, Hardaway made a change to the starting lineup, which is the 14th different starting lineup that Hardaway has used this season. The Tigers started McDaniel, Quante Berry, Julius Thedford, Simon Majok and Aaron Bradshaw.
After FAU scored the first points of the game nearly a minute into the game, Memphis went on an 11-3 run to jump out to an 11-5 lead. The Tigers never turned back and held an eight-point lead going into halftime.
Aaron Bradshaw was solid in the first half and led the team with 11 points and three rebounds in the first half. McDaniel also added 10 points, on 5-for-9 shooting, in the first half.
All five starters scored in the first half, and Parker added seven points off the bench in the first half.
Defensively, the Tigers held FAU to only 37 percent from the field in the first half and 4-for-12 from deep. While the starters only combined for 12 points, freshman Josiah Parker led the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.
In the second half, the two teams traded baskets early, and the lead stayed between six and 10 points for the first four minutes of the second half. Nearly five minutes into the second half, Memphis went on a 17-4 run to take a 21-point lead with 11:21 left in the second half.
Hardaway’s team never turned back and even stretched the lead to 30 points before ending the game with a 27-point victory. With a little more than five minutes left in the game, Hardaway elected to enter some of the guys at the end of the bench and put in D-II transfer Mason Matthews, who scored his first career points as a Tiger by knocking down a three.
As a team, the Tigers shot 50.7 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from deep and 89.5 percent from the free-throw line, and three players finished with double-figures. McDaniel led the team with 23 points, six assists and three steals, while Parker finished with 21 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
The Tigers did a much better job in some of the hustle categories than in the first game, but they were still out-rebounded 37-to-35. The Owls recorded 16 offensive rebounds and scored 12 second-chance points.
On the other side, Memphis recorded 15 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds. Hardaway’s team also forced 24 turnovers and turned them into 24 points off turnovers.
Memphis held FAU to 30.8 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from deep, and it had three players finish with double-figures. Parker led the team with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Isaiah Elohim had 17 points and six rebounds.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 10-10 on the season, and they’ll return to action on Sunday for another home game against Tulane. The Green Wave enters the game with a 12-9 record, but they’re on a five-game losing streak, including a 14-point loss in their most recent game against USF.