by Don Mooney 3-15-2025
Point Guard PJ Haggerty leads Tigers effort with season high 42 pts. by Don Mooney
FORT WORTH, Texas – Sophomore point PJ Haggerty picked the right time for season high performanc at Dickies Arena as the top-seeded Memphis men’s basketball team defeated eighth-seeded Wichita State, 83-80, in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference championship.
PJ Haggerty in attack mode against Wichita State. photo by Don Mooney
Memphis sophomore PJ Haggerty showed the nation why he is the AAC Player of the Year by dropping a career-high 42 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Tigers. It was the first time this year that Haggerty has even scored 30 in a game, and he soared past his previous career high of 32 points that he set last season with Tulsa against South Florida.
Haggerty’s 42 points tied the AAC tournament record for points in a game, previously held by Louisville’s Russ Smith, who scored 42 in the semifinals against Houston in 2014. It was only one point shy of the highest-scoring game in league history, 43 by Memphis’ Jeremiah Martin against Tulane in February 2019.
Senior guard Xavier Bell challenges Memphis center Dain Dainja early in afternoon contest. photo by Don Mooney
Haggerty is also the first player in Division I to score 40-plus points and shoot 60% in a conference tournament game since Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis in 2021. Davis is the son of Memphis assistant coach Mike Davis. Senior forward Dain Dainja was the only other Tiger in double figures with 18 points, five boards and three blocks.
Quincy Ballard with one of his four blocks. photo by Don Mooney
After a slow start from Memphis to start the game that saw Wichita State (19-14) take a 20-10 lead, the Tigers rattled off a 9-0 run, all from Haggerty and Dainja, after forcing three-straight Shocker turnover to cut the deficit to one.
Sophomore guard Baraka Okojie led defensive pressure in the second half generating turnovers and fast breaks. photo by Don Mooney
Memphis went cold from the floor and only made one of its next 10 field goals, while Wichita State drained its fifth 3-pointer in the first eight minutes to extend the game back out to two possessions.
Senior center Quincy Ballard, slams home two of his seven points. Contributed eight rebounds and four blocked shots on the night. photo by Don Mooney
With the Shockers leads 37-30 with 2:57 to go in the first half, Haggerty scored 9-straight points for the Tigers to go into the locker room tied at 39-39. Memphis held Wichita State to no made field goals over the final 4:32 of the half.
Tiger faithful travel well and showed up for Tigers tournament run. photos by Don Mooney
Just over four minutes into the second half, Memphis reeled off a 12-0 run to turn a one-point deficit into a 56-45 advantage with 13:22 to play. Haggerty scored nine of the 12.
Backup guards PJ Carter and Baraka Okojie provided a spark for the Tigers off the bench after the Shockers cut the score back to six. With less than nine minutes on the clock, Carter drilled his second triple of the day and Okojie converted an up-and-under layup to put Memphis in front 69-59.
Wichita State continued to battle and got it back to a three-point game before Haggerty’ buried a floater in the lane with 32 second remaining to give the Tigers some breathing room.
PJ was in attack mode for the Tigers creating several free throw opportunities. photo by Don Mooney
Tyrese Hunter and Haggerty drained a pair of free throws each in the final 20 seconds to hold off Wichita State. Memphis finished the game 29-of-64 from the field after shooting 53.3 percent after halftime (16-30). The Tigers struggled from long range, only hitting 3-of-15 attempts, but they were able to convert 22-of-30 at the free throw line. The Shockers were led by Bijan Cortes (19 points) and Xavier Bell (18 points).
Coach Penny rallying the troops. photo by Don Mooney
Wth the win Tigers improve to 27-5 on the year and advance to the semifinals to face No. 4 Tulane at 2 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the title game.