Offensive onslaught powers Memphis past UAB

The University of Memphis Tigers unleashed a barrage of 14 three-pointers, 11 of them in the first half, to jump on the UAB Blazers early and run away with a 79-45 win on Saturday.

Sophomore guards Chris Crawford and Will Barton led the team with 16 points each. Antonio Barton chipped in with 10, and seven players scored at least nine points in the romp.

The Tigers declared their intentions early, jumping out to a 15-5 lead less than five minutes into the game courtesy of three-pointers from Antonio and Will Barton and Crawford, who finished the game a combined 9-of-15 from deep.

After a UAB timeout to try and stem the tide, the Tigers kept pouring in the shots from all over the court. Memphis hit 8-of-9 threes in the first 12 minutes of the game, with junior forward D.J. Stephens capping the assault with his second career three-pointer, and his first of the season.

"It was one of those nights where one person knocked one down, and the next person knocked one down, and then everybody just started taking them, and they just kept falling," Stephens said.

Memphis' defense shut the Blazers down, holding them to just 21 points in the first half as the Tigers raced to a 47-21 halftime lead, holding the Blazers to 33.3 percent shooting and just five rebounds.

The second half was more of the same. The Blazers used a handful of three-pointers and free throws to cut the Memphis lead down to 21, but would get no closer. A dunk by Crawford and a pair of layups by sophomore forward Tarik Black pushed the Tigers lead back to 27, killing off any hopes of a UAB comeback. Stephens' second three-pointer of the game would push the Tigers' lead to a game-high 36 before Pastner called off the dogs.

"Life is about energy," head coach Josh Pastner said. "In basketball, and especially in college, you can win games strictly off of energy. We've been playing with energy for the most part, and that's our whole key – energy on every possession."

Preston Purifoy and Quincy Taylor led the Blazers with 14 points and 12 points respectively. UAB's leading scorers, Cameron Moore and Jordan Swing, combined for just four points after scoring 39 against the Tigers when the two teams met in Birmingham on Jan. 7.

"It's going to be tough to beat us when everybody's playing that good," Will Barton said. "I don't really think there's too many teams that could beat us, and if they do, it's going to be a long, long night."