One, two punch of Dain Dainja(l) and Moussa Cisse sealing the paint on both end leads Tigers to win against rival Temple Owls. photo by Don Mooney
by Don Mooney 2-9-2025
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shooting 56.1 percent overall (32-57), five players in double figures, domination in the paint ,on both ends, the No. 17 University of Memphis served up sweet revenge over Temple 90-82 inside FedExForum Sunday afternoon. The win keeps the Tiger on top of the American Athletic Conference. Winning seven in a row (11 of their last 12), improving to 20-4 overall and 10-1 in league play.
Aggressive play by guard PJ Haggerty fills the stat sheet with another two-pts was Tigers leading scorer. photo by Don Mooney
Guard PJ Haggerty‘s showed up big this afternoon. 20 points, seven assists, two rebounds, a pair of steals and a block. Memphis’ bigs sealed off the paint, all scoring in double figures. Center Dain Dainja was unstoppable, recording 18 points and eight rebounds. Nicholas Jourdain contributed 11 points and Moussa Cisse added 10 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Defense was key as Tigers dominated the paint on the defensive end against Owls. photo by Don Mooney
Getting his first start in a Tiger uniform, guard Dante Harris scored a season-high 14 points with three rebounds, two steals and an assist in 29 minutes. Tyrese Hunter was scratched minutes before the game and is considered day-to-day with a knee injury.
Temple was without its leading scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr. for the second straight game, fought valiantly on the road against No. 17 Memphis but ultimately dropped a 90-82 decision. Freshman Aiden Tobiason tied a career high and led five Owls in double figures with 18 points.
The first half started in a contested battle, with both teams trading baskets back-and-forth. With less than two minutes left in the half, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to go up five points. However, the Owls responded quickly to even the score at 35 going into the break.
Tigers PJ makes ’em pay in with this second half bucket. photo by Don Mooney
The Tigers finally caught fire a couple minutes into the second half. Down 42-40, Harris scored on a driving layup, then ran to mid court and stole the ball from Temple, before Dainja and Haggerty converted on back-to-back trips to give Memphis a 7-0 run and the lead.
Following a back-and-forth first few minutes of the second stanza, a 7-0 spurt by the Tigers gave the home team a 47-42 advantage and forced a timeout by the Owls. Two quick baskets by redshirt sophomore Quante Berry, Cleveland ,TN native, cut the deficit to one, but seven consecutive points by Memphis pushed the margin back to eight.
photo by Don Mooney
Memphis went on to make 16-of-19 shots from 18:17 in the second half to the 4:33 mark, including eight straight and six straight, respectively. The spurt gave the Tigers a 17-point turnaround that saw them go in front 79-64 after a step-back triple from Haggerty.
Fifth-year senior center Moussa Cisse puts clamps one Temple player in first-half. photo by Don Mooney
Temple cut the deficit to six in the final minute, but Memphis withstood the run to win 90-82. Memphis shot 65.4 percent in the second half and connected on 6-of-9 from long distance to outscore the Owls, 55-47.
Tiger fans “make some noise!!!” photo by Don Mooney
The Tigers go back on the road next week for a pair of contests. They will travel to Tampa to play reigning AAC regular season champion South Florida on Thursday (Feb. 13) at 8 p.m. CT.
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