Tulane tops Memphis, commemorates signature win

Jan 21, 2024, 06:05 PM ET

BRAND-NEW ORLEANS– Memphis coach Cent Hardaway was bitterly disappointed, however barely shocked, by the 10th-ranked Tigers’ 2nd straight loss.Sion James

had a season-high 22 points and Tulane outscored Memphis 22-13 in the last nine minutes to edge the Tigers 81-79 on Sunday.

“It simply seems like when it rains, it pours,” stated Hardaway, whose group was coming off a spectacular upset loss to South Florida on Thursday. “We blew a 20-point lead versus South Florida and after that pertain to a hostile environment, have a chance to win the game and do everything possible to provide the game away.”

There were no big leads to blow this time. Neither group led by more than seven points in an intensely competitive game that had 11 lead changes and 15 ties. There was even a minor scrum that brought both coaches onto the flooring to separate feuding players before Hardaway and Tulane’s Ron Hunter diffused it by playfully squaring off with their fists up.Editor’s Picks

2 Associated James

struck a pivotal

corner 3 that put Tulane(12-6, 3-3 American Athletic Conference)up 77-75 with 2:22 left.Tulane’s Collin Holloway topped his 13-point efficiency with a layup and 2 complimentary throws in the last 1:43 to put the Green Wave in front for good.It was Tulane’s very first win over a top-10 team since Feb. 12, 1983, ending a 37-game losing streak in such scenarios. And it was the program’s first win against a Leading 25 group since Dec. 22, 1999, ending a 53-game skid in such situations.David Jones had 32 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis(15-4, 4-2), and his block on James’

midrange fade as the shot clock ended offered the Tigers the ball, down by two, with 14 seconds left.Jones’ 3-point effort for the win rimmed out long off the back iron. The rebound was tapped out to Jones for one more shot with a 2nd on the clock, however his rushed 2nd effort was deflected by Tulane’s Jalen Forbes, and students put onto the court in Tulane’s relaxing, 90-year-old, 4,000-seat, on-campus arena to celebrate with the team. One student, video revealed, shoved a Memphis player during the celebration.”I’m not a big storm-the-court guy,”Hunter stated of the event as a whole.”But there’s some occasions at some schools and some environments where you simply– you know what? I enjoy for them.” This is what I have actually been waiting for, “included Hunter, now in his 5th season at Tulane, describing both the signature success and the unchecked adulation from a capability crowd

.”This is type of the puzzle all coming together. “Kevin Cross added 21 points for Tulane, which nearly beat another ranked group 10 days earlier, when the Wave fell 85-84 to No. 23 Florida Atlantic after a nasty call on a desperation 3-point shot with less than a 2nd on the clock.” We have actually talked so much about the Florida Atlantic circumstance, “Hunter said.” I thought we learned from that and we spoke about that in that last timeout.”Malcolm Dandridge scored 13 points for Memphis and had a career-high eight obstructed shots however fouled out in the last minute trying to block Holloway’s floater. Holloway struck both complimentary tosses to make it 81-77 with 58 seconds left.Jaykwon Walton struck 3 3s and scored 11 points in the first half, however an apparent rib injury sidelined him for the entire 2nd half.Even before Memphis’10-game winning streak was snapped earlier in the week, Hardaway had spoken about his transfer-laden team having a hard time to find the chemistry required to carry out in the

clutch. “Even if things are going great, it isn’t always what it seems, “Dandridge said, stressing that the Tigers were lucky to win a handful

of their current close games leading up to their existing slide.”We do need to figure things out.”Details from The Associated Press and ESPN Stats & Info was used in this report.