Dain Dainja scored a game-high 19 points and No. 16 Memphis survived a performance rife with turnovers to edge UTSA 75-70 on Tuesday in San Antonio, clinching at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
PJ Haggerty added 18 points, including six free throws in the final 10.7 seconds as the Tigers (25-5, 15-2 AAC) held on for their fourth straight win despite coughing a whopping 22 turnovers, 13 in the second half.
Nicholas Jourdain contributed 13 points and matched Dainja’s eight rebounds as Memphis controlled the boards 45-25. Colby Rogers hit for 10 points.
The Tigers will win the conference title outright with one more win or a North Texas loss.
Four players scored in double figures for UTSA (11-18, 5-12), led by reserve Jonnivius Smith with 18 points. Marcus Millender added 16, while Primo Spears chipped in 14 points and a game-high seven assists. Tai’Reon Joseph came off the bench to notch 12 points.
The Roadrunners had the ball down 69-67 after Dainja was called for traveling with 25.7 seconds left. With a timeout left, they went for the lead and Spears got off a fairly good look on a stepback 3-pointer over Dainja but the shot came up short. Haggerty got the rebound and sealed the outcome at the line, where he made 12 of 13 shots on the night.
The main storyline prior to tip-off was whether Memphis could clinch at least a share of the AAC title and the top seed for the conference tournament next week against an opponent that snapped a six-game losing streak on Sunday.
The Tigers got off to a slow start and trailed 10-4 less than four minutes into the game. While they bounced back and took the lead at the 13:08 mark on Rogers’ baseline jumper, they couldn’t establish real separation from UTSA.
Memphis managed an eight-point lead with 5:45 left when Haggerty sank two free throws but the Roadrunners answered back, clawing within 41-36 at the break as Spears converted two foul shots with four seconds remaining.
The Tigers owned a 24-10 advantage on the glass at halftime but committed nine turnovers.
–Field Level Media
