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Memphis rolls past South Florida, 80-58, at home

Joe Jackson

Memphis, No. 23 in the nation, had its eight-point first half lead cut to one with more than seven minutes remaining. However, the Tigers would go on a 10-0 run to enter halftime with a 34-22 lead.

In the second half, Memphis’ 3-point shooting heated up as the Tigers cruised to an 80-58 victory over South Florida in American Athletic Conference action on Sunday afternoon at home.

The Tigers entered Sunday as the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the American. South Florida was the only team to have a lower 3-point field goal percentage. Despite its poor shooting from beyond the arc up to this point in the season, Memphis ended the game 10-for-22 from deep, made more impressive by its 1-of-7 3-point shooting to begin the afternoon. Ten threes is a season-high for Memphis.

The long-range shooting clinic began at the end of the first half when Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford each connected from deep to stretch the lead to double digits. In the second half began with a Jackson three. Three minutes later Geron Johnson stroked a triple, the first of six straight made 3-pointers for Memphis. By the sixth one, Memphis was up 28.

The 3-point shooting numbers jump out of the box score, especially since Memphis was 30 percent as a team entering the game. But the Tigers defense, zone and full-court, forced 15 turnovers and sparked the 10-0 run to end the first half, which created separation. Another noticeable stat from Sunday: Memphis assisted on 23 of its 25 field goals.

With the win Memphis remains in the top three in the American with back-to-back road games up next on the conference schedule. The road trip begins against UCF and finishes at SMU on Saturday.

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