Tigers take down Mean Green at home, 68-64

Haggerty drops 27 to lead No. 21 Memphis past North Texas

From the University ofMemphis

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty lit up North Texas for 27 points to lead the No. 21 Memphis Tigers in a 68-64 victory over the Mean Green Sunday evening inside FedExForum.

The win improved the Tigers to 12-3 overall and 2-0 in The American, while the Mean Green fell to 10-4 and 1-1. It was the fifth win in six games for Memphis.

Haggerty hit his first seven shots and finished 11-of-14 from the field, including 3for-3 from long distance. His first miss didn't come until 11:48 in the second half.

The Crosby, Texas native became the first Tiger since De-Andre Williams in 2022 to score at least 25 points and shoot 75% in a game.

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Senior forward Dain Dainja had an efficient night, scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Senior guard Tyrese Hunter chipped in 12 points with six rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

North Texas led for nearly the first 11 minutes of the night before Memphis cranked up its defense, forcing fourstraight turnovers behind its full-court press. The Tigers responded with a 10-0 run that put them in front 20-16.

The pesky Mean Green closed the gap with the last three points to send the Tigers into the break with a 33-32 advantage.

North Texas opened the second half hot, connecting on three of its first four field goals to grab a 38-33 lead.

Memphis, however, turned back to its stingy defense.

This time, the Tigers forced five miscues over the next seven minutes that allowed Memphis to go on a 17-5 run that was capped by a triple from Haggerty and a steal and dunk from Nicholas Jourdain that put the Tigers back in front 50-43.

A key moment in Memphis holding its lead came with about 2:20 remaining in the game and only a couple seconds on the shot clock. Haggerty launched a high-arching desperation shot from well beyond the timeline and the ball rattled home to give him nineconsecutive points, and extend the Tigers lead to 64-58.

With eight seconds left in the game and a two-point advantage, Colby Rogers nailed two free throws to seal the deal at the end of the game.

Memphis had a season low in rebounds (21) and assists (7) in the win. It marks the first time since Feb. 1, 2012 that the Tigers recorded 21 or less rebounds and 10 or less assists in the same game. (at Southern Miss).

Moulaye Sissoko led North Texas with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and a game-high eight rebounds.

GAME NOTES

Memphis used the starting lineup of PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Moussa Cisse for the 12th time this season.

They are 9-3 on the year with that lineup.

The Tigers improved to 5-2 at home this season.

Memphis extended its lead in the all-time series to 18-7, including an 11-3 mark at home.

Memphis shot 54.5 percent overall (24-of-44), its secondstraight game going over 50 percent and the seventh time this season.

The Tigers improved to 58-3 under Penny Hardaway when shooting 50% in a game, including 37-0 at home.

The Tigers went 5-of-13 from deep (38.5%) and 15-of-21 at the free throw line (71.4%).

North Texas dominated the boards 30-21, while grabbing 12 on the offensive end.

The Tigers managed a season low four offensive rebounds.

The 21 rebounds were the second-fewest by a Penny Hardaway-coached team, and the fewest since grabbing 17 last season against Arkansas in the Bahamas.

PJ Haggerty reached 1,000 points for his career after going over 20 points for the 10th time this season.

He grabbed five rebounds and three steals to go along with 27 points in a game-high 38 minutes.

Dain Dainja finished with 14 points, his third-straight game in double figures and his sixth time in the last seven outings. Over the last three games, he has shot 18-for-24 from the floor (75.0%).

Tyrese Hunter recorded 12 points, six rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes.

Colby Rogers chipped in nine points after going 5-of-6 at the stripe.

UP NEXT

Memphis gets the week off before welcoming East Carolina next Sunday (Jan. 11) to FedExForum for a 1 p.m. clash on ESPN+.

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