Memphis returned home Sunday afternoon looking to bounce back from a hard-fought loss against Ole Miss, but Josh Pastner had other ideas. The former Tiger head coach brought his 1-2 Runnin’ Rebels inside FedExForum and left with a 92-78 win over Memphis.
Despite a quick 5-0 lead, UNLV responded with an 8-0 run and never looked back. The Tigers struggled to defend the Runnin’ Rebels’ up-tempo offense and couldn’t find enough shooting down the stretch to make a comeback.
After rolling with the same starting lineup in the first two games of the season, Penny Hardaway decided to shake things up against UNLV. Coach Hardaway replaced Sincere Parker and Aaron Bradshaw with Ashton Hardaway and Julius Thedford.
Hardaway started both exhibition games before being moved to the bench ahead of the season opener against San Francisco. After providing a nice boost off the bench against Ole Miss, Hardaway returned to the starting lineup and finished with seven points, one rebound, one assist and two steals against the Runnin’ Rebels.
By taking Bradshaw out of the starting lineup, Memphis gave up some size against a UNLV front court that lacked size due to injury, but Pastner’s team did a nice job inside the paint and finished the game with 50 points in the paint and out-rebounded Memphis 36-32.
The bigs remain a problem for the Tigers, and they haven’t found consistent play from any of their big men. Thierno Sylla, Aaron Bradshaw, Simon Majok and Tariq Ingraham combined for 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Bradshaw struggled for a third straight game and only played 10 minutes as a result. The junior recorded four points, one rebound and three turnovers in limited action.
Majok played a season high 12 minutes Sunday afternoon, and he accounted for nine points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot. Majok, who has only played basketball for a few years, is still relatively raw, but he has shown a ton of upside through the first three games.
Offensively, Memphis shot 42.4 percent from the field, but they turned the ball over 18 times, and UNLV made them pay on the other end of the court. Pastner’s team scored 30 points off turnovers and added 23 points on the fast break.
After struggling against Ole Miss, Julius Thedford led the team in scoring in his first start of the season. The sophomore ended the game with 16 points, six rebounds and an assist in 23 minutes of action.
All 11 players who played more than a minute scored, but the Tigers only had two players finish the game in double-figures. Senior guard Dug McDaniel couldn’t buy a basket, and he finished the game with six points and six turnovers on 1-for-10 from the field.
On the other side, UNLV shot 50 percent from the field, and four players finished the game in double figures. Senior Howie Fleming Jr. led the team with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
The story of the night for the Runnin’ Rebels was the pair of freshmen who took over the game, especially in the second half. Starting guard Issac Williamson finished the game with 25 points, while Tyrin Jones added 14 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Jones was held scoreless in only two minutes of action in the first half, but Pastner was forced to go to him only a few seconds into the second half due to injuries and fouls. Jones played the remainder of the game, and the Tigers had no answer for him.
Memphis now sits at 1-2, three games into the season, and they’ll travel to the Bahamas later this week for the Baha Mar Hoops Championship. The Tigers will play Purdue Thursday night to kick off the event before playing Texas Tech or Wake Forest Friday night.