Memphis entered Thursday losers of four straight, and it made it five straight with an 88-82 loss against Wichita State. After trailing by double-digits early in the second half, the Tigers mounted a comeback, but they couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch, leading to their eighth loss in conference play.
Prior to the contest, Aaron Bradshaw, Ashton Hardaway and Zach Davis all appeared as questionable, and Davis was the only one of the three that suited up for the game. Bradshaw suffered an injury in Tampa against South Florida, and after the game, Hardaway said that both Hardaway and Bradshaw were day-to-day with their injuries.
With the injuries, Hardaway inserted Sincere Parker into the starting lineup, using a lineup with four guards and Thierno Sylla as the only big man on the court to start the game.
Parker and Dug McDaniel combined to score the team’s first 14 points, including 10 early points from McDaniel, but Memphis struggled to find ways to slow down the Shockers’ offense. The Tigers led by five points four minutes into the game, but Wichita State quickly erased the lead and led for the final 9:22 of the first half.
McDaniel led the team with 13 points in the first half, and Quante Berry added 11 points and three rebounds. The rest of the team struggled to make shots, and only two other players recorded points through the first 20 minutes of action.
On the other side, eight Shockers recorded points in the first half, and Paul Mills’ team grabbed 31 rebounds, including 17 offensive rebounds. Wichita State only shot 27.5 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes of the game, but it scored 17 second-chance points and four points off three turnovers.
The Shockers took a five-point lead into the half, but they quickly extended their lead to 11 points early in the second half. Despite the double-digit lead, Memphis continued to fight, and it slowly chipped away at the lead and made it a one-possession game after a 12-2 run with 12:01 left in the game.
Parker, McDaniel and Berry played a massive role in the team’s comeback, combining for 36 points in the second half, and Berry hit a jump shot to give the Tigers their first lead in the second half with 2:53 remaining in the game.
Berry had his best showing in a Tigers uniform, and he finished the game with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in 27 minutes off the bench.
Memphis took the lead two more times on back-to-back layups from Davis, but the Shockers closed the game on a 7-0 run, including a huge three-pointer from Kenyon Giles to give Wichita State a four-point lead with 22 seconds remaining in the game.
As a team, Memphis shot 51.6 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from deep and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line, and they only turned the ball over seven times. Three players finished in double-figures, and McDaniel led the team with 29 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Parker added 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Tigers lost the rebounding battle 44-to-27, and the four bigs combined for only five rebounds, including none from Sylla in 14 minutes of action. Memphis made adjustments in the second half and held Wichita State to only one offensive rebound and five assists in the second half.
On the other side, the Shockers shot 43.3 percent from the field, 20 percent from three-point range and 78.8 percent on 33 free-throw attempts, and five players finished the game in double figures. Giles led the way with 22 points and six rebounds, while Karon Boyd added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Will Berg recorded another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Mills’ team recorded 44 points in the paint.
With the loss, Memphis falls to 12-15 on the season and 7-8 in conference play, and they’ll hit the road for a matchup against East Carolina on Sunday. The Pirates are 5-10 in conference play and are currently set to miss the conference tournament.