No. 21 Tigers Roll to 90-62 Win over Florida Atlantic

Thursday, January 2

Boca Raton, Fla.

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

11-3,1-0AAC

Florida Atlantic

7-7,0-1AAC

Memphis

Fla. Atlantic

No. 21 Tigers Roll to 90-62 Win over Florida Atlantic

Jan 02, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. –The 21^st-ranked University of Memphis men's basketball team went on the road and opened American Athletic Conference action with a 90-62 thumping of Florida Atlantic inside Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena Thursday night.

The 28-point victory is the largest for the Tigers since a 94-54 win over Tulane in the 2023 AAC Championship, and the largest in a conference opener since defeating East Carolina 99-58 on Jan. 9, 2008.

Four Tigers scored in double figures with senior Tyrese Hunter leading all scorers with 20 points, his sixth 20-point performance this season, while going 8-for-14 from the floor. PJ Haggerty added in 19 points while Dain Dainja scored all 16 of his points in just 10 minutes in the second half.

Redshirt senior Colby Rogers chipped in 11 while Moussa Cisse recorded his second consecutive 11-rebound game while adding seven points and two blocks to his line.

Memphis (11-3, 1-0 AAC) held the Owls to just five three-point field goals tonight, nearly half of Florida Atlantic's average for the season.

The Tigers shot lights out in the win, including 63.3 percent in the second half (19-of-30).

Memphis never trailed after opening the game on a 14-2 spurt. Consecutive 3-pointers from Hunter and Haggerty keyed the early surge, before a triple from Rogers with 4:59 remaining gave the Tigers their largest lead at 79-51. That score was matched on Cisse's dunk with 18 seconds left for the final margin.

FAU (7-7, 0-1) was led by Kaleb Glenn's 12 points and seven rebounds, while big man Baba Miller chipped in 10 points and five boards.

POSTGAME NOTES

Memphis used the starting lineup of PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Moussa Cisse for the 11^th time this season.
- They are 8-3 on the year with that lineup.
The Tigers improved to 7-1 this season on courts away from home, including 4-0 in true road games.
Memphis takes the lead in the all-time series, 3-2, after earning its first-ever win in Boca Raton.
Memphis shot 55.9 percent overall (33-of-59), its sixth time this season going over 50 percent.
- It marks the second-highest percentage of the season (Ohio, 56.1).
The Tigers went 10-of-18 from deep (55.6%), their fourth game with double-digit makes.
The Tigers outscored the Owls 42-32 in the paint and 16-9 on fast breaks.
Memphis scored 19 points off 13 FAU turnovers and limited the Owls to just seven assists.
Memphis improved to 56-3 under Penny Hardaway when shooting 50.0 percent or higher from the field.
Tyrese Hunter scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds with four assists.
- It is his sixth game this season with 20-plus points and also his sixth with at least four three-pointers (4-of-6.
PJ Haggerty put up 19 points with five boards and two dimes in 31 minutes.
- He has scored in double figures in all 14 games.
Dain Dainja recorded his second-straight game with 16 points, despite playing just 20 minutes.
- All of his points came in the second half after shooting 7-of-12 on the night.
- He has reached double figures in eight of the last 11 outings.

UP NEXT
Memphis returns home for a quick turnaround that sees the Tigers host North Texas on Sunday at 4 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.