Tyrese Hunter scored a game-high 20 points, PJ Haggerty added 19 and No. 21 Memphis raced past host Florida Atlantic for a 90-62 win on Thursday night in Boca Raton, Fla., in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The Tigers (11-3, 1-0 AAC) kept Florida Atlantic at arm’s length in the first half before Dain Dainja took over after the break. He scored all 16 of his points in the second half and all after picking up his fourth foul with under 15 minutes remaining.
Kaleb Glenn paced the Owls (7-7, 0-1) with 12 points to go with seven rebounds. Baba Miller added 10 points and three blocks. But Florida Atlantic, playing for the first time in 12 days, shot just 5-for-31 (16.1 percent) from 3-point range, compared to the 10-of-18 clip (55.6 percent) by Memphis.
The highest-ranked team ever to play at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena, Memphis built an early 14-2 lead. The Tigers racked up six offensive rebounds within the first four minutes, leading to seven second-chance points.
FAU stayed close, however, thanks to sloppy play from Memphis. With under eight minutes left in the first half, the Owls’ Ken Evans Jr. collected a steal and found KyKy Tandy for a 3-pointer. That narrowed the deficit to 29-22 for the Owls, who had 10 points off six Memphis turnovers early on.
Memphis responded as the half came to a close, with the Tigers hitting five of six shots during one stretch, including a 3-pointer from Hunter, to help send Memphis into halftime with a 42-32 lead despite not making a field goal over the final 3 minutes, 14 seconds.
The Owls hit a scoring drought in the second half, at one point going without a field goal for nearly four minutes, allowing Dainja to take over and lead the Tigers to a 28-point win — the largest losing margin for FAU all season.
–Field Level Media
