Saturday, December 28, 2013

No. 17 Memphis Cruises to 75-61 Win Over Jackson State

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MEMPHIS, Tennessee  -- The No. 17 University of Memphis men's basketball team (9-2) opened up a 21-6 lead and never looked back on their way to a 75-61 victory over Jackson State (4-8) on Saturday afternoon.

Michael Dixon Jr. led Memphis with 14 points while Shaq Goodwin added 13 points and seven boards. David Pellom came off the bench for the Tigers to chip in 12 points on 5-of-5 from the field while Joe Jackson totaled 11 points.

Holding a 6-4 advantage, Memphis capitalized off five JSU turnovers in the first six minutes of the game to go on a 15-2 run and build a 21-6 lead with 10:25 to play in the half.

Dixon Jr. stretched the Memphis lead even further with a basket at the 8:22 mark to make it a 27-10 game. After two free throws from Chris Crawford to extend the U of M lead to 33-14 with 5:37 to go, JSU reeled off an 11-4 run with six points coming from Treshawn Bolden over the next four minutes to cut its deficit to 37-25.

JSU would not pull any closer the rest of the half with Memphis going into the locker room up 40-28. The trio of Jackson, Dixon Jr. and Crawford accounted for 25 of the team's 40 first half points.



In the opening minutes of the second period, JSU pulled within single digits for the first time since the 15:03 mark in the first half at 41-32 following a bucket from Brandon West. However, Memphis answered with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to push its lead to 53-32 with 12:37 to play.

JSU ended its drought 30 seconds later with a three-pointer from Julysses Nobles followed by a layup from Marcus Love to pull JSU within 16.

Memphis extended its lead back to 20 after a basket from Nick King for a 59-39 advantage midway through the half. JSU answered again with a three-point play from Nobles to bring the Memphis lead down to 14 with 8:33.

JSU would be able to get back within 11 at 65-54 with four minutes left in the game, but that deficit would not dwindle down any further in the final minutes as Memphis held on for the 75-61 win.

Memphis opens American Athletic Conference play on the road Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., when the Tigers take on USF in a televised 6 p.m. (CT) game on ESPN2.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

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