Junior Shawn Taggart led the University of Memphis over the Mustangs Wednesday night by a score of 90-47. The No. 5 Tigers (23-3, 11-0) kept their perfect Conference USA record alive with the victory, and extend their conference winning streak to 53 games. The Mustangs (7-17, 1-10) remain in last place in the conference standings and now have only five conference games remaining.
SMU came out looking to hang tough with the Tigers, establishing an early lead and keeping it until Memphis’ Doneal Mack hit a 3-pointer with 12:34 left in the first half to go up 18-17. The Mustangs continued to keep pace with the Tigers, pulling within five points on a Paul McCoy 3-pointer with 3:50 left in the half. That would be the closest the game would come however, as Memphis closed the half with a 16-2 run to take a 52-33 halftime lead.
Things only got worse for the Mustangs, as Memphis defense tightened up in the second half to hold SMU to 15 points, their lowest scoring output in any half this season. SMU allowed Memphis to score 14 points above their scoring average. Wednesday night’s game was the fourth time this season that the Tigers have scored 90 or more points.
In a complete team effort, all five starters for Memphis scored at least 13 points, and 10 out of 11 players who saw playing time added points to the stat sheet. The Tigers barely out rebounded SMU, 36-35.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Mustangs, playing their second straight game with 20 or more turnovers (their fifth time this season). Memphis was able to convert those turnovers into 16 points.
SMU was called for 25 personal fouls, more than any other game this season, and this gave Memphis the opportunity to shoot an incredible 36-of-40 from the free throw line. No player for Memphis missed more than one free throw shot in the game. Both Frank Otis and Robert Nyakundi fouled out of the game for SMU. Head coach Matt Doherty left the game as well, being ejected by the officials late in the second half.
The Mustangs have dropped eight straight conference games, including two against the Tigers. Memphis came to Moody Coliseum on Feb. 4 and walked away with a 79-66 victory.
The Mustangs return to the Hilltop to face the Rice Owls at 7 p.m. Saturday at Moody Coliseum. Rice defeated SMU 69-57 earlier this season in Houston.
