Written by Adrian Beecher
Kyvon Davenport's 27 points led the way for the 5th seeded Memphis Tigers as they held off 12th seed USF in round 1 of the American Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Tigers wasted no time getting started in the AAC tournament. Keyvon Davenport hit a triple to get the scoring started, and kicking off an 8-0 start to the game for Memphis.
The first basket of the night from USF came from David Collins with 3 and a half minutes expired. The Bulls kept fighting and were able to pull within 1 with 15:03 left to play off a triple from Payton Banks. Then once again, the Tigers extended their lead, this time to 6 on a triple from Kyvon Davenport.
The Bulls would then cut the deficit to just 2 points with 12:37 left in the half, before an offensive explosion from the Tigers. They went on a 9-2 run over the next 5 minutes to take a 27-18 lead on USF. The Bulls continued to fight back but would head to the locker room trailing 38-29.
In the 2nd half, USF showed fight, led by Collins, who scored five of the Bulls first eight 1st half points. With 17:39 left in regulation, it was just a 5 point game. Then the Tigers started to pour it on once again, in the form of a 9-2 run over the next two minutes that pushed the Tigers lead to 12.
Memphis continued to slowly pull away, answering nearly every basket of the Bulls over the next 5 minutes. With under 9 minutes left to play the Tigers lead had extended to 15.
The Bulls were not just out of the fight yet though. Collins hit a triple to cut the Memphis lead to 12. This was the start of an 8-2 run over the next 2:10 that cut the deficit for USF to just 7 points.
Two free throws from Collins on back to back possessions would make it a 5 point game. With just 20 seconds left to play, Stephan Jiggetts hit a triple for USF from the left corner to cut it to a 3 point game.
On the ensuing possession, Memphis missed both free throws. The Bulls gained possession and took a timeout with just 14 seconds left to play. Out of the timeout, Jiggetts got a great look at a game-tying triple, but it hit the front end and missed. The Bulls got the rebound, and Justin Brown got fouled on the putback. The shot missed, however, and there would be just .7 seconds left on the clock.
There was just not enough time left for the Bulls to pull off the comeback upset. Memphis punched their ticket to a round 2 matchup with Tulsa on Friday in Orlando, FL.
The Tigers wasted no time getting started in the AAC tournament. Keyvon Davenport hit a triple to get the scoring started, and kicking off an 8-0 start to the game for Memphis.
The first basket of the night from USF came from David Collins with 3 and a half minutes expired. The Bulls kept fighting and were able to pull within 1 with 15:03 left to play off a triple from Payton Banks. Then once again, the Tigers extended their lead, this time to 6 on a triple from Kyvon Davenport.
The Bulls would then cut the deficit to just 2 points with 12:37 left in the half, before an offensive explosion from the Tigers. They went on a 9-2 run over the next 5 minutes to take a 27-18 lead on USF. The Bulls continued to fight back but would head to the locker room trailing 38-29.
In the 2nd half, USF showed fight, led by Collins, who scored five of the Bulls first eight 1st half points. With 17:39 left in regulation, it was just a 5 point game. Then the Tigers started to pour it on once again, in the form of a 9-2 run over the next two minutes that pushed the Tigers lead to 12.
Memphis continued to slowly pull away, answering nearly every basket of the Bulls over the next 5 minutes. With under 9 minutes left to play the Tigers lead had extended to 15.
The Bulls were not just out of the fight yet though. Collins hit a triple to cut the Memphis lead to 12. This was the start of an 8-2 run over the next 2:10 that cut the deficit for USF to just 7 points.
Two free throws from Collins on back to back possessions would make it a 5 point game. With just 20 seconds left to play, Stephan Jiggetts hit a triple for USF from the left corner to cut it to a 3 point game.
On the ensuing possession, Memphis missed both free throws. The Bulls gained possession and took a timeout with just 14 seconds left to play. Out of the timeout, Jiggetts got a great look at a game-tying triple, but it hit the front end and missed. The Bulls got the rebound, and Justin Brown got fouled on the putback. The shot missed, however, and there would be just .7 seconds left on the clock.
There was just not enough time left for the Bulls to pull off the comeback upset. Memphis punched their ticket to a round 2 matchup with Tulsa on Friday in Orlando, FL.