Despite leading for the majority of the game, the Memphis Tigers couldn’t hang on for what would have been a major conference victory, as they fell to the Houston Cougars 98-90, Wednesday night at Hofhienz Pavilion in Houston.
For the third time in as many games, Memphis (14-10, 5-6 AAC) led at the half (this time by eight points), only to collapse after the break. Through the three-game stretch the Tigers finished 1-2, with its only win coming over Cincinnati, despite blowing a 15-point halftime lead in that game.
Against Houston (17-7, 7-5 AAC), Memphis struggled defensively as the Tigers had no answer for senior forward Devonta Pollard. The 6-foot-8, Mississippi native posted a career-high 34 points, leading the hot-shooting Cougars to 55.9 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from behind the three-point line.
Junior guard Damyean Dotson went 6-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-4 from behind the arc. He fouled out with 21 points and three rebounds. Freshman Galen Robinson Jr. also had a big night for the Cougars, posting 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Tigers, who shot 49.3 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from behind the arc, got solid production out of their front court tandem: senior Shaq Goodwin (24 points and seven rebounds) and freshman Dedric Lawson (20 points and 10 rebounds), but it wasn’t enough to carry Memphis past the Cougars.
Senior forward Trahson Burrell also added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, and freshman guard Craig Randall II, who got his second career start, posted 10 points and two steals.
One of the Tigers’ so-called “Big Three,” senior guard Ricky Tarrant, struggled Wednesday night as he finished with only three points and two rebounds, after fouling out late in the second half.
After the loss, the Tigers fall to a sub-.500 record in American Athletic Conference play (5-6). Memphis currently sits in seventh place in the conference.
Luckily for Memphis, they will face three of the bottom four teams in the conference—Tulane, UCF and USF—over the next week. This will give the Tigers a good chance to regain their composure before facing the 16th ranked SMU Mustangs at the FedExForum, Feb. 25.
The Tigers will most likely need to win five of their final seven games to even have a shot at earning a top three seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament.
Memphis will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana, to take on the Tulane Green Wave Saturday at Devlin Fieldhouse at 1 p.m.
After Wednesday’s loss, Tigers’ coach Josh Pastner’s squad is now 2-5 in its last seven games. Memphis is also 5-6 in AAC play.
