THE BAHAMAS, — The Memphis Tigers came into their game against the Michigan Wolverines in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament knowing they had to hit the ground running in the Bahamas.
"To come back the first game against Michigan, that's pretty good, it gets your juices flowing," Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway said before Wednesday's game. "You have to go right away. I always tell my guys to be ready, so I'll be ready."
The Tigers were clearly ready for the heightened competition, as they put away Michigan 71-67 in their first-round matchup where they didn't surrendered the lead after the final 10 minutes of the first half, stifling several rallies by the Wolverines to regain the lead.
Freshman Ashton Hardaway, Penny's son, set the pace for the Tigers with 17 points, adding two rebounds in what was easily his breakout game. None of his 17 points were bigger than a late-game three-point shot putting the Tigers up by nine points with just under a minute to go, after Michigan had cut the lead to just two.
Memphis had a 12-point advantage at halftime thanks to a ridiculous cross-up by Senior and FSU transfer Caleb Mills, sending a Michigan defender flying across the floor, leaving him open for a long-range jump shot.
The Tigers started the second half hot, seeing their lead balloon to 16 points, but Michigan took over the momentum of the game, chipping away at the Tigers lead after cleaning up their first-half turnover problems and dominating the Tigers at the boards.
The Wolverines would make the game just a two-point contest with nine seconds left.
Four key free throws by Tigers Senior David Jones, who came into the game shooting just 56% from the line, put the game out of reach.
The Tigers, now 4-0 to start the year with two impressive wins against Missouri and Michigan, will play the winner of Arkansas and Stanford in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thanksgiving, and could very well earn a spot in the AP Top 25 poll come Monday.
