MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Men's Basketball team moved to 3-0 on the season for the second year in a row after a dominant 94-70 win over Ohio on Friday night at FedExForum.
The 94 points mark a season high for the Tigers who shot over 56% from the field and a staggering 72.2% from beyond the arc - which is just the sixth time since the 2013-24 season the Tigers have hit at least 60 percent of their three-point attempts.
The 13-18 made threes on Friday were a nice sight for Tiger fans considering the shooting from three has been fairly lackluster to start the season. In the two exhibition games the Tigers were just 6-37 from downtown and 14-37 in the first two games.
For the third straight game PJ Haggerty led the Tigers in scoring, this time with 23 after going 7-of-10. Haggerty also grabbed 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Tyrese Hunter had his best game of the season thanks to a 15-point second half. The senior guard finished with 21 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
Both Haggerty and Hunter didn't practice this week due to injuries but said postgame they are starting to get better.
Nicholas Jourdain also got into double digits and was nearing a double-double. The forward had 15 points, 8 boards and 2 assists in the win.
The Tigers found themselves down 2 to start the game but that was the only time they ever trailed. Memphis immediately went on an 18-2 run to grab a 14 point lead but Ohio got hot from three too and closed the gap to as little as three.
Memphis were up 43-38 at the half before turning the screws in the second frame to go on to win by 24.
Defensively, Memphis held the preseason MAC favorites to eight points fewer than their scoring average entering the night.
The Tigers have now won 63 of their last 65 games when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor. Tonight’s game also marked the third straight game that the Tigers have scored 50+ points in the second half this season.
Memphis will hit the road for a week when it heads out west to take on San Francisco on Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 9 p.m. CT (ESPNU) before jetting off to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational starting on Nov. 25.