Tigers claim C-USA outright in chippy win over UCF

Despite Keith Clanton’s 29 points on senior night at UCF Arena, the 19th-ranked Memphis Tigers claimed their sixth outright Conference USA regular season title with a 76-67 victory over the UCF Knights. Chris Crawford and Joe Jackson each scored 19 points to lead the Tigers in a chippy contest.

After withstanding an opening 14-4 run by UCF, Memphis rallied to take a five-point lead at the half. There were 38 fouls called between the two teams and three technical fouls.

Toward the end of the game, Joe Jackson picked up two of those technicals on back-to-back incidents with 19 seconds left on the clock. Jackson and Knights’ junior guard Calvin Newell Jr. got physical with each other as UCF began to foul to reduce their deficit. After picking up his first technical, Pastner made an attempt to substitute Jackson out to avoid any additional issues between Jackson and Newell, only to have Jackson shove Newell prior to his exit from the game.

Jackson was subsequently ejected, but Curtis Shaw – head of C-USA officiating – confirmed that Jackson will not be suspended since the two technicals were not Class 2 offenses.

The fireworks did not end there, though. According to an eyewitness we spoke to afterward, a UCF fan threw something at the Tigers as they exited through the tunnels, specifically directed at head coach Josh Pastner. The fan was also cussing very heavily and hurling insults at Memphis’ team, to which Pastner asked for the fan to watch his mouth since there were kids near. Pastner followed up that request by asking the cops to remove the fan.

Former UCF point guard A.J. Rompza decided to go after Pastner on Twitter following the game, saying the following:

I would have tackled Pastnor since he never shook my hand after a game in three years!! Lol and then went at Jackson. @taylorbyoung

— AJ Rompza (@A3Rompza) March 2, 2013

Game Notes

• The University of Memphis’ RPI jumped up to #18 overall with the win over the Knights today. UCF, on the other hand, fell from #101 to #108 after the loss. With only games against UAB and Southern Mississippi remaining, it’s unlikely that Central Florida will make their way into the Top 100.
• Class of 2014 five-star shooting guard D’Angelo Russell (Montverde Academy) was in attendance for today’s game. Memphis is one of a dozen or more top programs in the country chasing after the 6-foot-4 guard.
• Saturday’s win was the 100th win for Josh Pastner as a head coach. D.J. Stephens has been there for every one of them. Pastner is the quickest Memphis coach to reach 100 wins.

Photos from the tunnel taken by Twitter user @BrianDiaz

About the Author

Brooks Hansen

Brooks is the founder and brains, if you can call 'em that, behind Memphis Roar. As the primary writer and scouting director for Memphis Roar, Brooks travels to prep sporting events across the country and brings you the latest on Memphis-relevant news. Brooks has big hands and is thumb-wrestling champion in 43 states. His favorite piece of advice would be if a clown offers you a hamburger and it’s not Ronald McDonald, do not eat the hamburger. A lesson learned the hard way. Brooks received his Bachelors of Arts and Sciences from the University of Memphis in 2005 in Psychology (minor of Philosophy and Biology) and went on to pursue his master’s degree in Experimental Neuroscience. Google+

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