Senior forward Shaq Goodwin scored a career-high 35 points, carrying the Memphis Tigers to a much-needed 97-86 victory over the UCF Knights (10-8, 4-3 American) in Orlando Tuesday night.
Memphis (13-7, 4-3 AAC) entered the American Athletic Conference showdown desperate for a win. The Tigers were on a two-game losing streak — the most recent loss being dealt by lowly East Carolina, who entered that contest winless in conference play — and with SMU, UConn and Cincinnati looming on the horizon, a loss to the Knights could have potentially resulted in the Tiger slide snowballing to six games.
In addition to the losing skid, Memphis has been winless on the road this season. Another defeat would have been devastating. Instead, the Tigers pulled through when they most needed it.
The Tigers ran rampant in the offensively focused first half, charging out to a 54-40 halftime advantage. Seemingly everything went right for Memphis. Inside? Goodwin led the way with 24 first-half points, while freshman forward Dedric Lawson added 12. Outside? The Tigers splashed in seven three-pointers, including two from Avery Woodson, two from the recently struggling Ricky Tarrant, and even one from Goodwin — his first all season.
The second half did not go nearly as smoothly for the Tigers, with UCF storming out of the gates with 10 straight points before a pair of triples from Woodson and Tarrant pushed the Tiger lead back to double-digits. Despite the rocky start after the break, Memphis was able to regain control of the contest due to yet another outstanding half from both Goodwin and Woodson.
Perhaps equally important to the victory was Tarrant’s return to productivity. The senior guard had converted only two field goals in his last two games combined, but came up huge against the Knights, totaling 18 points and coming through with a plethora of timely three-balls to stifle Knight runs in the second half.
The duo of Goodwin and Woodson paced the Tigers on a night when the team erupted for a season-high 97 points. The two combined for 54 points while also remaining efficient on their field goal attempts. Goodwin shot 15-23 from the field, while Woodson finished 7-11 after a perfect 6-6 start. Lawson also added a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Junior center Justin McBride led the way for the Knights, with 20 points and five rebounds while shooting 8-8 off the bench.
While Memphis was excellent offensively, gaping holes in the team’s defense remain. The Tigers had been one of the AAC’s elite defensive teams this season, but on Tuesday night UCF became the second school in three games to shoot better than 48 percent on the Memphis defense. The Knights shot 37 percent from three-point range and 53 percent overall.
The schedule gets significantly tougher when Memphis returns to action, as the Tigers travel to Dallas to take on No. 13 SMU 7 p.m. Saturday. The Mustangs were the last remaining undefeated team in Division I before falling on the road at Temple on Sunday.
Shaq Goodwin's career-high 35 points, nine rebounds and six assists helped lead Memphis to its first road win of the season.
