Tigers grind out tough 84-69 win over gritty Jackson State
Leroy Watson | Managing Editor
Some things are predictable. As the calendar turns to December, a cold snap is approaching Memphis, TN. And on the hardwood in front of 7,507 at the FedEx Forum, the University of Memphis won their 12th straight against Jackson State (and 16th of 17 overall), 84-69.
It was an uneven performance by the Tigers, coming off a 1-1 stretch at Niceville, FL and a third place overall finish in the Emerald City Classic, losing to Providence (60-51) and defeating Iowa (100-92).
Wednesday night was about continuing to build positive momentum as the calendar year 2016 draws to a conclusion. The Tigers have faced a wide variety of teams and for the most part have been successful.
“When you schedule, you always try to schedule teams that will test your team,” Memphis head coach Tubby Smith explained. “It does help that we have such a variety of teams that we have played against. . .
“Just like tonight, we had to make the adjustment and go zone ourselves because we couldn't stop them off the dribble. We've gone against some teams that are attacking off the dribble, penetrating and pitching.
“We try to schedule teams that would give us different looks and improve.”
Jackson State coach Wayne Brent impressed Smith.
“They aggressively trapped when Dedric or K.J. or any of our post players had the ball inside, which is a smart play,” Smith said. “Now you've got to throw it back out. We're not making the outside shots, you look up and we've only made 2-out-of-12 threes. Pretty smart coaching. . .
“I was impressed with Coach Brent. He's a good coach.”
The Tiger players were impressed by how hard Jackson State played, which made it more difficult for Memphis to put the game out of reach.
“They were real scrappy,” Dedric Lawson (17 points, 12 rebounds, sixth double-double in 7 games despite a season-low point total). “One of those teams that never go away. As a whole we got complacent out there and stopped protecting (the rim).”
“Any team that's coached not to give up no matter what the score is, it's gonna be kind of hard to put 'em away,” said redshirt junior guard Markel Crawford (15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in a team-high 37 minutes). “We got kind of complacent, taking first-side shots and not getting the ball back on the inside.”
Memphis came out smoking hot, running to a 13-4 lead in the first four-plus minutes of play. But a familiar scenario began to play out: Memphis would try to pull away and Jackson State would fight back.
The lead, as a result, stayed right around the 10-point mark for the majority of the first half, but a late 12-4 push by Memphis sent them to the locker room leading comfortably, 50-32.
The advantage never got higher than 20 though, as Jackson State outscored the home team, 37-34, in the second half. But this fact did not alarm, Tubby Smith.
“Nah, we're not concerned,” Smith said, smiling and stifling a chuckle. “Teams are not gonna give up. (Jackson State) is a team that was in every game. We tried to tell the guys that. Ohio State just pulled away at the end.
“The way they play, they're gonna keep themselves in the game. They go to the boards, they mix up the defenses. That's what they were doing, changing the defense. . .
“They went zone, went man-to-man, kept us off balance. But in the end our guys kept their poise, kept their composure. That's what you have to do.”
The Tigers' loosened defense in the second half allowed Edric Dennis (game-high 21, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc) and Yeltra Specks (19) to keep things interesting.
In fact, Jackson State cut the deficit to single digits (68-59) before Memphis iced the game at the free throw line.
A win is a win, and the Tigers advanced to 6-1 with a grudge match against Ole Miss looming. Jackson State fell to 1-6.
“We're just anxious to move on to the next game to get another win,” Crawford said. “Last year, we didn't come into the (Ole Miss) game hyped as usual. So I think Saturday, to go in there and beat a good Ole Miss team is one of our missions.”
“I'm just ready to beat (Ole Miss). They beat our football team,” Dedric Lawson said directly. Though members of the media chuckled, Lawson had a look of grim determination on his face.
Ole Miss (5-2) will come into the contest licking the wounds of a 77-62 defeat at home at the hands of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. They will be eager, no doubt, to get back into the win column.
Tip-off for that game is 12:00 noon at the Pavilion in Oxford.
Leroy Watson | Managing Editor
Some things are predictable. As the calendar turns to December, a cold snap is approaching Memphis, TN. And on the hardwood in front of 7,507 at the FedEx Forum, the University of Memphis won their 12th straight against Jackson State (and 16th of 17 overall), 84-69.
It was an uneven performance by the Tigers, coming off a 1-1 stretch at Niceville, FL and a third place overall finish in the Emerald City Classic, losing to Providence (60-51) and defeating Iowa (100-92).
Wednesday night was about continuing to build positive momentum as the calendar year 2016 draws to a conclusion. The Tigers have faced a wide variety of teams and for the most part have been successful.
“When you schedule, you always try to schedule teams that will test your team,” Memphis head coach Tubby Smith explained. “It does help that we have such a variety of teams that we have played against. . .
“Just like tonight, we had to make the adjustment and go zone ourselves because we couldn't stop them off the dribble. We've gone against some teams that are attacking off the dribble, penetrating and pitching.
“We try to schedule teams that would give us different looks and improve.”
Jackson State coach Wayne Brent impressed Smith.
“They aggressively trapped when Dedric or K.J. or any of our post players had the ball inside, which is a smart play,” Smith said. “Now you've got to throw it back out. We're not making the outside shots, you look up and we've only made 2-out-of-12 threes. Pretty smart coaching. . .
“I was impressed with Coach Brent. He's a good coach.”
The Tiger players were impressed by how hard Jackson State played, which made it more difficult for Memphis to put the game out of reach.
“They were real scrappy,” Dedric Lawson (17 points, 12 rebounds, sixth double-double in 7 games despite a season-low point total). “One of those teams that never go away. As a whole we got complacent out there and stopped protecting (the rim).”
“Any team that's coached not to give up no matter what the score is, it's gonna be kind of hard to put 'em away,” said redshirt junior guard Markel Crawford (15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in a team-high 37 minutes). “We got kind of complacent, taking first-side shots and not getting the ball back on the inside.”
Memphis came out smoking hot, running to a 13-4 lead in the first four-plus minutes of play. But a familiar scenario began to play out: Memphis would try to pull away and Jackson State would fight back.
The lead, as a result, stayed right around the 10-point mark for the majority of the first half, but a late 12-4 push by Memphis sent them to the locker room leading comfortably, 50-32.
The advantage never got higher than 20 though, as Jackson State outscored the home team, 37-34, in the second half. But this fact did not alarm, Tubby Smith.
“Nah, we're not concerned,” Smith said, smiling and stifling a chuckle. “Teams are not gonna give up. (Jackson State) is a team that was in every game. We tried to tell the guys that. Ohio State just pulled away at the end.
“The way they play, they're gonna keep themselves in the game. They go to the boards, they mix up the defenses. That's what they were doing, changing the defense. . .
“They went zone, went man-to-man, kept us off balance. But in the end our guys kept their poise, kept their composure. That's what you have to do.”
The Tigers' loosened defense in the second half allowed Edric Dennis (game-high 21, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc) and Yeltra Specks (19) to keep things interesting.
In fact, Jackson State cut the deficit to single digits (68-59) before Memphis iced the game at the free throw line.
A win is a win, and the Tigers advanced to 6-1 with a grudge match against Ole Miss looming. Jackson State fell to 1-6.
“We're just anxious to move on to the next game to get another win,” Crawford said. “Last year, we didn't come into the (Ole Miss) game hyped as usual. So I think Saturday, to go in there and beat a good Ole Miss team is one of our missions.”
“I'm just ready to beat (Ole Miss). They beat our football team,” Dedric Lawson said directly. Though members of the media chuckled, Lawson had a look of grim determination on his face.
Ole Miss (5-2) will come into the contest licking the wounds of a 77-62 defeat at home at the hands of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. They will be eager, no doubt, to get back into the win column.
Tip-off for that game is 12:00 noon at the Pavilion in Oxford.
