Entertainment, Sports, Tenn

Tigers Overcome Tigers As Memphis Wins Home Opener Against Mizzou

Memphis extends winning streak to 22 in home openers Monday night inside FedExForum in Memphis. photo by Don Mooney

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Two Tigers met at FedExForum for a cage match last evening and the Tiger dorned in blue came away with the win. The University of Memphis men’s basketball team opened its season with an 83-75, come-from-behind win over Missouri to extend its winning streak to 22 in home openers Monday night inside FedExForum in Memphis.

Memphis used a strong second half to overcome a 10-point deficit at the break. Memphis (1-0) trailed by 10 at the half but rallied to outscore Mizzou 51-33 in the second half behind 57.7-percent shooting (15-of-26).

photo by Don Mooney

In his debut game as a Tiger, redshirt-sophomore guard PJ Haggerty led the Tigers with a game-high 25 points – including 22 in the second half to lead the Memphis comeback. Last year’s unanimous AAC Freshman of the Year went 10-for-11 from the charity stripe and added six boards and five assists.

Tiger redshirt-sophomore guard PJ Haggerty led the Tigers with a game-high 25 points . photo by Don Mooney

Three more Memphis Tigers chipped in double-digit scoring efforts as former Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tyrese Hunter scored 14 points with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Fifth-year center Moussa Cisse added 14 points himself to accompany seven rebounds from the bench. Redshirt-senior guard Colby Rogers added 10 points.

The Memphis Tigers were sluggish out of the gate, turning the ball over eight times and trailing by as many as 14 late in the first half. But ‘Big Memphis’ showed up after halftime and so did that vaunted  Penny Hardaway defense.

Fans were encouraged to “Blue-Out” the Forum last evening for the season opener. photo by Don Mooney

Missouri used a strong first half to take a 10-point lead into the break. Trailing by a single point, 12-11, the visitors made 10-consecutive shots to pull in front by 14, 36-22. Pierce led MU with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes of action, reaching double figures for just the second time in his career in the opening stanza. Overall, Mizzou headed into the locker room with a 42-32 advantage.

Memphis trailed 55-47 with just over 12 minutes remaining, but Hardaway’s crew used an 11-0 run over the span of 2:28 to retake the lead for good after a fastbreak layup and three ball from Hunter on back-to-back possessions. Haggerty scored 13 points in the final 10 minutes and Cisse sank five free throws to ice the victory.

In his first career start, sophomore Anthony Robinson II (Tallahassee, Fla.) responded with a career-best 16 points and seven assists. Tamar Bates and Trent Pierce each added 13 points, while Aidan Shaw chipped in 11.

Free T-shirts were given out to fans to help “Blue-Out” the arena last night. photo by Don Mooney

Three additional MU Tigers also scored in double figures in the opener – sophomore Trent Pierce (Tulsa, Okla.) also tallied a career-best 13 points, while senior Tamar Bates (Kansas City, Kan.) and junior Adian Shaw (Overland Park, Kan.) added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Win or lose, the Memphis Tigers Bomb Squad always delivers. photo by Don Mooney

Junior Mark Mitchell (Kansas City, Kan.) tallied eight points to go with a team-leading seven boards.

 The visiting Tigers shot 45.6 percent overall (26-57) and hit 7-of-24 from long range.

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