MEMPHIS, Tenn. –
TJ Cope set a new season mark with 21 points and provided four dunks, but it wasn't enough to overcome the hot shooting start by the Memphis Tigers in an 86-70 loss on Wednesday at FedEx Forum.
Both teams started out hot as there were 23 combined points by the first media timeout. Memphis hit their first five shots from the field while the Privateers went 4-of-7 from the field including threes by
Coleton Benson and
Kedrick Osby.
From there, the Tigers went on a 16-3 run that extended their lead to 16. The three-point shot was a big factor in the first half as Memphis went 8-of-16 from downtown in the opening 20 minutes. The Tigers shot 59.2 percent from the field as a team in the first half as well.
By the end of the first half, Memphis built their lead to 20 points at 48-28.
The Privateers shot better than the Tigers in the second half as they connected on 45.7 percent of their field goal attempts to 40 percent for Memphis. Cope and
Irish Coquia, who each had their first double figure scoring effort of the season, combined for 24 points in the second half.
A Cope three-pointer with 4:58 remaining cut the Tigers' lead to 13, which was the smallest deficit the Privateers wound up facing in the second half. The Tigers responded with a 7-0 spurt of their own to put the game out of reach and move to 11-0 all-time against the Privateers.
Memphis had six players land in double figures, led by Quante Berry who had 17. Dug McDaniel recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Zach Davis just missed out on a double-double of his own as he had 10 points and nine rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOX
Cope went 7-of-10 from the field in his 21-point performance and went 3-of-5 from three-point range. Buckley added 14 points, four rebounds and two steals. Coquia finished with 10 points and six assists.
MJ Thomas added 10 points and a team-high eight boards on the night.
NEXT UP
The Privateers will open conference play on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they host HCU. The game will include a jersey retirement ceremony for former Privateer star, Bo McCalebb.
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