No. 19 Memphis Escapes Hurricanes, 72-68

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Durand Scott, Malcolm Grant and Reggie Johnson combined for 50 of Miami’s 68 points, but it wasn’t enough as Miami fell to No. 19 Memphis, 72-68, to kick off ESPN’s third annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon in front of 17,873 at FedExForum.

Memphis’ Joe Jackson scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half, and the Tigers escaped a poor shooting night to escape Miami early Tuesday.

Chris Carmouche had 13 points and Wesley Witherspoon added 12 for Memphis (2-0), despite making only 1 of 5 shots from the field. Antonio Barton finished with 10 points for the Tigers, who shot 34 percent, and managed only 4 of 22 from 3-point range in a game that began at Midnight.

The Hurricanes (1-1) received their expected scoring from guards Scott (20) — who posted his second-straight 20-point performance and fifth of his career — and Grant (18). But they also got stellar play from Johnson, who finished with a double-double of 12 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds despite battling foul trouble all night.

Miami shot only slightly better than Memphis (33 percent), but dominated the boards, 51-31, including 23 off the offensive glass.

Memphis had a 6-point lead with 9:10 remaining, but Johnson scored six straight points to tie it.

The Hurricanes took a 63-59 lead with 3:55 to play on a free throw and 3-pointer by Grant.

The teams were tied at 66 with a minute left. Will Coleman blocked Scott’s layup attempt with just under a minute left, a play that led to a foul that sent Carmouche to the line, where he hit both free throws to give Memphis took the lead for good. The Tigers hit 6 of 8 free throws in the final minute to hang on for the victory.

D.J. Stephens’ basket inside as time expired in the first half gave Memphis 38-37 lead. The Hurricanes’ zone defense kept the Tigers outside the arc throughout the half, and Memphis missed 10 of its 12 shots from 3-point range.

The Hurricanes also controlled the boards outrebounding Memphis 23-14 in the half.

Memphis built the lead to 48-39 in the early stages of the second half, as Jackson scored eight of the Tigers’ first 10 points after intermission.

Neither team could pull away in a game that had 13 ties and 15 lead changes, and the game slowed by a rash of fouls – 29 on each team.

Cleaning the Glass
Miami built the 51-31 rebounding advantage, including tallying 23 offensive boards. That +20 rebounding margin is the largest for the Hurricanes since they led 55-31 on the glass in a win over Florida Atlantic on Dec. 19, 2009. Those 23 offensive boards are the most for UM since registering 24 in the game versus the Owls.

Big Reg
Reggie Johnson recorded his second career double-double, finishing with 12 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds in 21 minutes. He also swatted a season-high three blocks, just one shy of his career-high four versus Florida State on March 6, 2010.

20-20 Vision
Durand Scott finished with 20 points for the second-straight game and for the fifth time in his young career. The Hurricanes nearly posted two 20-point scorers for the second-straight game, as Malcolm Grant finished with 18 points and a career-high seven rebounds. He also dished out a team-high three assists.

From Downtown
The Hurricanes usual three-point prowess escaped them on Monday evening, as Miami went just 3-of-19 from long range, and Adrian Thomas saw his ACC-long 12-game streak with a trey snap. Twice last season, UM hit a season-low three from beyond the arc (vs. UNCW and vs. Florida State). Memphis, who hit 14 three-pointers in their season-opener on Friday, also struggled from long range and hit 4-of-22 three-point attempts.