Men's Basketball returns home, beats South Dakota State

Tuesday, December 4

Memphis, Tenn.

8 PM

University of Memphis

4-4

South Dakota State

7-3

South Dakota St.

Memphis

Alex Lomax (2) had 12 points and two assists in Tuesday's 88-80 win over South Dakota State.

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Men's Basketball returns home, beats South Dakota State

Dec 04, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Boxscore (UM 88, SDSU 80)

Martin, Harris score 22 points each to help Tigers to win over perennial NCAA participant

By: Phil Stukenborg

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The University of Memphis returned to FedExForum for the first time in 17 days and made the most of familiar surroundings.

Getting 22 points each from Jeremiah Martin and Tyler Harris, the Tigers defeated South Dakota State, 88-80, before 13,583. For Martin, the 22 points represented his season high.

Memphis (4-4) snapped a two-game losing streak in the process as it used a strong rebounding performance and solid shooting to improve to 3-0 at home. The Tigers out-rebounded the Jackrabbits, 36-32, and shot a season-best 50.8 percent.

"It was a huge win for us," coach Penny Hardaway said. "You've got to get the first one (at home) coming off the road."

Hardaway called it a great win against a team that is projected to win its fourth straight Summit League championship (and earn its fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance). Hardaway said his team had to withstand "a three-headed monster" in forward Mike Daum and guards David Jenkins and Skyler Flatten.

A two-time honorable mention All-American, Daum, averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds, was limited to 18 points and four rebounds. Jenkins picked up Daum's slack and finished with a career-high 35 points. Flatten finished with 13 points.

"I'm proud of our guys for hanging in there," Hardaway said. "I'm even more proud that Isaiah Maurice had a really good game and that Tyler Harris took three charges. That's huge because we've been pushing for him to do that more. Guys got uncomfortable (tonight) and did things they aren't used to doing and we came out with a great team victory."

Maurice came off the bench to contribute 10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals in 21 minutes. Alex Lomax had 12 points, including a key layup and two free throws down the stretch.

Memphis never trailed in the second half, although the Jackrabbits (7-3) trimmed the Tigers' lead to five points (45-39) early in the second half. A few minutes later, the Tigers built a 15-point advantage (60-45) after a three-point play from Martin.

"It feels great to come back home and win," Harris said. "We got the losing taste out of our mouth, so that feels good."

In the first half, the Tigers shot 55.2 percent and forced 16 South Dakota State turnovers to take a 40-32 lead.

Memphis also took advantage of Daum being held to relatively quite seven points. Daum briefly went to the sidelines after picking up his second foul with 9:16 to go in the opening half.

The Tigers used a 14-3 run in the first half to erase an early 10-5 deficit and take a 19-13 lead. Memphis never trailed the remainder of the half. Three-pointers by Kyvon Davenport and Kareem Brewton were part of the run, as were two layups by Martin.

Memphis stays home to play UAB at noon Saturday.

NOTABLES

The 16 first-half turnovers were the most in a game this season by the Jackrabbits. They finished with 23.
Eight of Tiger Raynere Thornton's nine rebounds came in the second half.
South Dakota State's 40-32 halftime deficit represented the first time it had trailed at the break this season.
Tiger freshman guard Tyler Harris had his fourth game of the season with 20 or more points. His career high of 25 came Nov. 25 against Charleston at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando.