Memphis returned to FedExForum with a lot of confidence following a 10-point win over UAB earlier this week, and they used that confidence to propel them to a 77-54 victory over Charlotte.
The Tigers continue to have names pop up on the availability report, and four players were listed as questionable ahead of Sunday’s game. Quante Berry, Aaron Bradshaw, Hasan Abdul Hakim and Sincere Parker all appeared on the report, but Abdul Hakim was the only player out of those four who didn’t play.
It’s the fourth straight game that Abdul Hakim has missed with an illness, but this is the first game where he has been on the bench since the loss against Wichita State.
After using the same starting lineup for three straight games, Penny Hardaway made a change to the starting five, adding Curtis Givens III and Thierno Sylla to the starting group. The change moved Simon Majok and Berry to the bench, while Dug McDaniel, Thedford and Bradshaw remained in the starting lineup.
The Tigers quickly jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the first media timeout, and they continued to find success against the 49ers by building a 20-point lead at halftime. Memphis shot the ball well in the first half, but it was mainly the starters who did the bulk of the work.
The Tigers went on two separate 7-0 runs in the first half to take control, and Charlotte couldn’t get anything going on the other end of the court.
Memphis shot 45.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep, on six three-pointers, in the first half, and the bench only scored 12 points, including seven points from Sincere Parker. The starters combined for 25 points, and Givens led the group with eight points and two assists.
The Tigers also did a nice job protecting the rock, and they only recorded three turnovers through the first 20 minutes of the game.
On the other side, the 49ers only scored 17 points in the first half, and they shot 24 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range. Aaron Fearne’s team also struggled with turnovers and recorded 10 before halftime.
Hardaway’s team put the game on cruise control in the second half and maintained a 20-point lead for most of the second half. With just a little more than four minutes left in the game, Hardaway went to the end of his bench and put in both Mason Matthews and Arop Arop, who have both seen limited time this season.
While the lead was never in doubt, Memphis went 0-for-8 from deep in the second half and turned the ball over seven times over the final 20 minutes.
Six players, including four starters, finished in double-figures, but Bradshaw led the team with 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks. The big man has taken his game to another level in conference play, and he has now recorded 10 or more points in six straight games.
Off the bench, Ashton Hardaway and Sincere Parker both finished with double-digit points, and Parker finished the game with 11 points, on 4-for-11 shooting, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals after his 40-point performance earlier this week. Hardaway, who has had an up-and-down season, scored 10 points, on 3-for-5 shooting, and added an assist and a steal.
The Tigers are playing with a lot more confidence, and they shared the ball more against the 49ers. Over the last five games, Memphis has averaged 12 assists per contest, but it finished with 17 assists on 29 field goals on Sunday.
Defensively, Hardaway’s team kept Charlotte from getting much going, and they only shot 36.8 percent from the field and 21.9 percent from deep. The Tigers defended well without fouling, and they only recorded 13 fouls, allowing eight free-throw attempts.
Memphis held the 49ers’ three leading scorers to combine for only 16 points on 5-for-13 from the field. Only two players finished in double-figures for Charlotte, and Aden Conyers led the team with 14 points in 30 minutes of action.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 12-11 on the season, and they’ll get set for an important three-game road trip over the next nearly two weeks. The three-game stretch will start Thursday in Denton, Texas, against the Mean Green.
Memphis beat the North Texas 57-48 on New Year’s Eve, and Daniyal Robinson’s team is 1-4 in their last five games.