University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
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Belmont
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No. 10 Memphis Dominates in Season Opener
Nov 15, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2011
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The No. 10 Memphis men's basketball team kicked off the 2011-12 season in impressive fashion Tuesday with a 97-81 win over Belmont in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. In both the home and season opener for the Tigers, three players scored at least 20 points, including 22 from senior Wesley Witherspoon, who was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field.
Sophomore Will Barton was the Tigers' leading scorer with 23 points while fellow sophomore Joe Jackson added 20 points on 6-for-7 shooting. True freshman Adonis Thomas shined in his Tiger debut with 12 points. The Tigers shot 59 percent from the field, led by a combined total of 14-of-15 from Witherspoon and Jackson. A Belmont team that lost to No. 6 Duke by just one point in its opener on Friday managed just 39 percent shooting against the Tiger defense with 18 turnovers.
Despite an 11 a.m. tip as part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon, the Tigers showed no signs of sluggishness as Memphis jumped out to an early 16-4 lead in the game on the strength of a 6-for-9 start from the field. The Bruins scored four points in the first 53 seconds of the game from the free throw line but went 0-for-8 from the floor in the opening six minutes while the Tigers put together a 13-0 run. After sophomore Tarik Black picked up two early fouls, newcomer Stan Simpson saw his first action in a Tiger uniform and made an immediate impact, scoring four points during the Memphis run.
Belmont's J.J. Mann finally ended the Bruin drought with a 7-0 scoring spurt of his own just before the 12-minute mark. Another Belmont free throw at 11:36 cut the lead to 16-12. Witherspoon kept the Bruins at bay with eight points of his own over the next two minutes, including two treys and a putback off a missed free throw from Charles Carmouche, to push the advantage up to eight points at 24-16.
Free throws once again bailed out the Bruins as they scored six points from the charity stripe and dropped a turnaround jumper in the lane to cap an 8-3 spurt and make it a one-possession game at 29-27 with just over six minutes to play in the half. From there, it was a track meet as both teams ran the floor at will and were seemingly unstoppable on the offensive end. Despite a barrage of three-pointers and dunks from the Tigers, the Bruins matched them bucket-for-bucket with six straight makes to stay within three points at 39-36 with three minutes remaining.
However, it was defensive pressure that allowed the Tigers to score seven of the last 10 points in the half and take a 46-39 lead into the locker room. Memphis forced a turnover and a charge along with getting a block from Barton on a Bruin three-point attempt as Belmont managed just three points from the charity stripe in the final three minutes of the half. Witherspoon and Jackson combined to go 10-for-10 from the field in the opening 20 minutes as Witherspoon scored 16 points, Jackson 11 and Barton 10 in the first half.
After Belmont drained the first bucket of the second half, a three-pointer, Memphis took over with a 7-0 run including makes from Witherspoon and Jackson. The Tigers began the second half much as they did the first, with a 5-for-5 shooting start and a 13-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 59-44 with 17 minutes left to play.
The two teams traded buckets from there as Thomas got in on the scoring action for the Tigers with a layin and a three-pointer in a 60-second span. A jumper from Thomas at the 11:39 mark gave Memphis a commanding 72-54 lead.
That would be the last Memphis field goal for almost four minutes as Belmont went on a 12-1 run once again assisted by the free throw line to cut the deficit to just seven points at 73-66. After a Tiger timeout, Jackson found Black for a throwdown that brought the crowd of 16,294 to its feet. The Bruins refused to go away, however, as they used three straight treys to keep it close and still trail by just seven points at 84-77 with less than four minutes left in the game.
But it was the Tigers who kept their composure and came alive down the stretch with a 12-2 run punctuated by Witherspoon's eighth bucket of the game to push the lead back to double digits at 96-79 as the clock approached the one-minute mark. It was all the Tigers needed to post the 97-81 win.
The Tigers now head to Maui for the Championship rounds of the Invitational. Memphis will face Michigan on Monday at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
