Memphis takes down No. 16 Clemson in overtime on the road

Clash of Tigers comes down to extra frame

From the University of Memphis

GoTigersGo.com

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Memphis men's basketball team bounced back with a huge road win over No. 16 Clemson, 87-82, in overtime Saturday morning inside Littlejohn Coliseum. It is the second-highest ranked win in a true road game for head coach Penny Hardaway in seven seasons.

The win is the second of the season over a ranked opponent and third against a power conference team.

Memphis (8-2) trailed 69-63 with 2:22 to go in regulation after Ian Schieffelin's layup.

But it finished the second half with a 9-3 run to force the extra period as Clemson's Chase Hunter missed a longdistance shot at the end of regulation.

Clemson (9-2) was ahead 7877 in the extra period when Tyrese Hunter struck with the first of his two 3-pointers in overtime. After Clemson moved back in front for a final time, 81-80, Hunter took a pass from PJ Haggerty for an open three. Dain Dainja and Haggerty sunk four free throws to seal the 87-82 victory.

Hunter led the way for Memphis with a game-high 23 points, hittng on 7-of-11 three-point attempts, while also adding four rebounds and three assists.

Redshirt senior Colby Rogers dropped a season-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting while going 4-for-7 from distance. Haggerty chipped in 12 points, four assists, and grabbed eight rebounds.

Memphis opened the game

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hot as Rogers and Hunter knocked down back-to-back triples to help give the Tigers a 10-0 advantage out of the gate before a handful of turnovers allowed Clemson to chip away at the lead.

The purple and orange Tigers took a two-point lead with one minute left in the half on a Jayden Zackery three ball, but Memphis' Hunter made huge plays down the stretch with a block and a steal before drilling a deep triple at the buzzer to send the visiting Tigers into the break with a 33-32 lead.

Big man Moussa Cisse got the second half started with a pair of wide-open dunks before Hunter nailed another three to push Memphis' lead back out to 40-32. Clemson came back to take a 6-point lead (69-63), setting the stage for Memphis' late heroics.

Viktor Lakhin had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Clemson. Chase Hunter and Ian Schieffelin had 17 points each.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Memphis used the starting lineup of PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Moussa Cisse for the seventh time this season.

• They are 5-2 on the year with this lineup.

• The win moved Memphis to 5-0 against ACC opponents in seven years under Hardaway, including 2-0 over a ranked Clemson team.

• Memphis shot 51.7 percent in the game, hitting 31-of-60 from the floor.

• It's the fifth game of the year for the Tigers shooting over 50%, improving to 4-1 in those games.

• Memphis finished 12-of-25 from long range, its third game with double-digit threes this season. The 12 triples were one off their season high.

• The Tigers withstood a season- high 12 lead changes and led for over 33 minutes of game time.

• Memphis dished out 17 assists and forced 13 Clemson miscues.

• The Tigers scored 21 points off those turnovers.

• Tyrese Hunter matched his career high with seven threepointers. He also drained seven in the overtime win over No. 2 UConn in Maui.

He finished with 20-plus points for the fifth time this season.

• Colby Rogers drilled a season high four three-pointer en route to 22 points.

• He extended his streak to 18-straight games with a made three and has now recorded double figures in six consecutive outings.

• PJ Haggerty finished with a season low 12 points, but led the team with a 6-for-8 day at the free throw line.

• Dain Dainja added 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 28 minutes off the bench.

• Moussa Cisse fouled out after 24 minutes, but he made those minutes count with eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

• All eight of his points came in the second half.

• Nicholas Jourdain contributed nine points and five boards.

UP NEXT

The Tigers will stay on the road next week with another trip to ACC country, as Memphis visits Virginia at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 18 on ESPN2.

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