No. 2 Memphis Cools Off Tulsa 82-67

[February 28, 2008]  MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Willie Kemp scored 14 points and keyed a first half Memphis rally, leading the No. 2 Tigers to an 82-67 victory over Tulsa on Wednesday night in their first game since their only loss.

Kemp was 5-of-10 from the field, including 4-for-7 outside the 3-point arc, as five Tigers scored in double figures. Doneal Mack and Shawn Taggart scored 12 points apiece, while Robert Dozier added 11 points and eight rebounds. Antonio Anderson finished with 10 points.

Ray Reese led the Golden Hurricane with 18 points and eight rebounds. Ben Uzoh finished with 17 points and Calvin Walls added 10.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Tulsa.

Memphis, which took its first loss of the season Saturday against Tennessee, made a fast start to clear its mind about dropping from the nation's top spot for the first time in six weeks. The Tigers (27-1, 13-0 Conference USA) shot well and protected the ball while maintaining at least a 20-point lead through much of the second half.

But Tulsa put together nine straight points late to at least make the score interesting. The Golden Hurricane were too far behind to catch up, though, never cutting the Memphis lead under 13 points.

Tulsa (15-11, 6-7) was the unfortunate team in front of a refocused Memphis, and the Golden Hurricane was stymied by a Tigers defense that held them to 44 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

Meanwhile, Memphis shot 48 percent on the night, but was 13-of-25 from 3-point range.

Memphis, which was held to a season-low point total in a 56-41 victory at Tulsa on Jan. 23, almost covered that in the first half thanks to long-range shooting and the scoring by reserves led by Kemp.

Memphis used a 16-0 run in the half to erase an early Tulsa advantage and build the lead to 43-19 at the half. Kemp keyed the rally, hitting a trio of consecutive 3-pointers in the spurt, the bulk of his 11 points in the half.

Anderson hit all three of his shots in the half for 10 points.

Tulsa went almost seven minutes without scoring, missing five straight shots during the Memphis run.

Unlike the Tennessee game when the Tigers couldn't maintain an early pace from outside the arc, Memphis was much better in the first half. It shot 56 percent on 9-of-16 in the half, and continued to score from outside after the break.

Tulsa, meanwhile, struggled from the field, hitting 35 percent in the half and compounded its problems with 10 turnovers.

The Memphis bench outscored Tulsa 43-11 in the game.

[Associated Press]

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