Just a few days after ending their 64 game conference win streak to UTEP, all eyes were on the Tigers to see how they would respond against the Houston Cougars. The Tigers took the court on Saturday looking to start over with a clean slate. Despite a valiant effort from Houston’s Aubrey Coleman, the Tigers overpowered the Cougars 92-77. The Tigers, who put together a great second half to pull away, had five players score in double figures.
“I knew coming off a loss Wednesday, an emotional loss with a lot going on with the public and everything, I felt that it was going to be really important for us to get a ‘W’ here,” said Memphis head coach Josh Pastner.
Wesley Witherspoon caught fire early on for the Tigers, scoring 12 of his 20 points in the first half. The Tigers could only contain Houston’s Coleman for the beginning of the first half; then Coleman caught fire and unleashed on the Tigers. Coleman and the Cougars picked away at an early eight point deficit, taking the Tigers into the half tied 39-39.
The second half was all Memphis as Roburt Sallie and Doneal Mack took over for the Tigers while Elliot Williams sat out due to foul trouble. Memphis shot 61.2% from the floor for the game and proved to be too much for the Cougars in the second half. Houston had trouble answering Memphis’ second half runs, although Coleman had no trouble getting to the rack or pulling up for jump shots at will. Coleman proved to be the only problem for the Tigers in the second half, finishing with a game high 32 points. For the Tigers, Roburt Sallie added 20 points while Doneal Mack had 17 and Willie Kemp finished with 11 for Memphis, who now sits at 14-5 overall (4-1 in C-USA).
“In the first half, I had a lot of good looks. I just didn’t make them. Coach got on me for a second at the half and said I’m too good of a shooter, I’m one of the best shooters in the country and there’s no way I should be missing open shots,” explained Roburt Sallie. “And when he said that, it kinda stuck in my head. The team relies on me to shoot and knock down open shots, and that’s what I have to do. That’s what I did in the second half.”
The Tigers will travel to West Virginia this week to take on Marshall on Wednesday.
Sights and Sounds
Officials Tom O’Neill, Warren Evans, and Bret Smith were the source of quite a few questionable calls in the game, prompting the crowd to fill the stadium with boos at numerous times Saturday night.
Head football coach Larry Porter and head basketball coach Josh Pastner both had recruits in the building Saturday night. Adonis Thomas, a big time Tiger prospect for 2011 can be seen here.
Have something to say? Talk about it on our message board!
Not a member? No problem. It's easy and FREE to sign-up here. Already a member? Join the conversation!