Defense, Grit Carry Tigers Past Temple 55-53

Wednesday, January 14

Memphis, Tenn.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

8-8,3-1American

Temple

11-6,3-1American

Temple

Memphis

Jan 14, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis men's basketball leaned on toughness and timely execution Wednesday night, holding on to defeat Temple 55-53 at FedExForum.

The win improved the Tigers to 8-8 overall and 3-1 in American Conference play, snapping Temple's seven-game winning streak and dropping the Owls to 11-6 and 3-1. The result also moved Memphis into a five-way tie for first place in the league standings.

Curtis Givens III led the Tigers with 12 points, connecting on 5-of-12 shooting and knocking down two three-pointers. Sincere Parker added 10 points and five rebounds, while Zach Davis chipped in six points.

Memphis led 29-22 at the break, getting first-half points from nine different players. Former Temple Owl Quante Berry and Parker paced the Tigers with five points each.

The momentum carried into the second half, where Memphis used a decisive 12-3 run to stretch a four-point advantage into a 45-32 lead with 12:25 remaining. Givens III sparked the stretch, scoring eight points in a span of 70 seconds.

Temple responded with a late push, pulling within two points in the final minutes, but Parker delivered a driving layup with 1:13 to play to extend the advantage to four and help seal the win.

The Tigers secured the victory despite adversity, including the loss of starting center Aaron Bradshaw, who exited in the first half with an injury and did not return.

For Temple, Gavin Griffiths led all scorers with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Derrian Ford added 14 points, while Aiden Tobiason posted 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

POSTGAME NOTES

Starting Five: Memphis opened with a starting lineup of Dug McDaniel, Quante Berry, Curtis Givens III, Aaron Bradshaw and Hasan Abdul Hakim.
- It marked the Tigers' 12th different starting lineup this season, surpassing the combined total from the previous two years.
Memphis improved to 17-12 all-time against Temple, including winning eight of the last nine meetings.
- The Tigers improved to 6-0 at home against the Owls under Penny Hardaway.
Shooting: Memphis shot a season-low 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor and went 6-of-24 from beyond the three-point line (25.0%). The Tigers shot 9-of-15 at the free throw stripe.
- The nine made free throws and the 15 attempts were the second-fewest of the season in each category.
Turnovers: Memphis committed 11 turnovers, which Temple managed to convert into only two points.
- It's the fewest miscues for the Tigers since Dec. 13.
Defense: Memphis held Temple to 34.0 percent shooting (18-of-53) and forced the Owls into a season-high 14 turnovers.
- Temple entered the game ranked third in Division I, averaging just 8.8 turnovers per game.
- The Tigers turned those miscues into 16 points.
- Memphis recorded a season-high nine blocked shots by eight different players.
Bench Production: Memphis got 29 points from its bench, compared to nine from the Owls.
- It marked the 12th game this season with 25+ bench points.
Rebounding: Memphis got outrebounded by Temple 41-35, but managed to pull down 11 offensive boards.
Ball Movement: Memphis dished out 12 assists while committing 11 turnovers.
Curtis Givens III led the Tigers with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting in 33 minutes.
- He also pulled in a season-high four rebounds and swiped two steals in his first start since Nov. 16.
- Givens recorded his fifth game of the season with double-digit scoring.
Sincere Parker contributed 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 22 minutes off the bench.
- He's reached double figures now in three of his last four games, and in 10 games overall this season.
Dug McDaniel scored five points and dished four assists, but the 5-foot-11 point guard hauled in a career-high nine rebounds over 38 minutes.
- McDaniel connected on the 150th three-pointer of his career and eclipsed 1,300 career points in the win.
Zach Davis added six points and two steals, while William Whorton and Quante Berry each scored five points.
Ashton Hardaway chipped in four points, four rebounds, two assists and a team-high two blocks.

UP NEXT
Memphis closes out the week hosting UTSA on Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.

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.