Jahvon Quinerly hits the game-winning three as #15 Memphis survives 78-75 over Tulsa

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The #15 Memphis Tigers defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 78-75 in their conference home opener.

The 15th-ranked Tigers survived the upset attempt thanks to a game-winning three from Jahvon Quinerly.

David Jones led Memphis with 17 points and 8 rebounds as Nae’Qwan Tomlin followed up with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

P.J. Haggerty led Tulsa with a career-high 27 points and 8 rebounds.

The win moves Memphis to 12-2 on the season and 1-0 in AAC play.

Both teams started the game off back and forth in the first nine minutes of the first half.

With the score at 21-20 in favor of Memphis, the Tigers extended the lead with a 12-0 run to take a 13-point lead.

Tulsa would continue to get back in the game as freshman P.J. Haggerty carried the Golden Hurricane.

Haggerty finished the half with 17 points to lead all scorers.

However, Memphis continued to fire back and hold a double-digit lead over Tulsa.

Bad news would come for the Tigers at the two minute mark as senior Caleb Mills slipped under the basket while driving.

Mills would need assistance as he was carried off the court by trainers and head coach Penny Hardaway with an apparent knee injury.

Coach Hardaway has stated multiple times that Mills has been dealing with injuries all season, even calling Mills a “leader” and a “warrior” for his play.

The 15th-ranked Tigers would stay on the gas pedal as they went into halftime with a 49-35 lead.

David Jones led Memphis with 10 points, followed by Jaykwon Walton with 9 points and Nae’Qwan Tomlin with 8 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

Memphis shot 64 percent from the field and 56 percent from three at half, including 12-for-14 from the free-throw line.

Tulsa would storm back in the second half with six three-pointers, including 3 three-pointers from Carlous Williams, to cut it back to a three-point game.

However, Memphis retaliated with a 9-0 run in the next four minutes.

Tulsa would ultimately bring it back to a tied game with 33 seconds remaining thanks to a 7-0 run in 17 seconds, including the game-tying three from Cobe Williams.

With the final seconds winding down, Tigers guard Jahvon Quinerly hit the game-winning three with four seconds remaining to give Memphis the victory.

The #15th-ranked Tigers will travel back home for their AAC home opener Sunday afternoon versus SMU.

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2024 WMC. All rights reserved.