After falling in its last two meetings against ECU—including an 84-83 loss at FedExForum earlier this year—the University of Memphis notched a win against the Pirates, 83-53, in its final regular season game at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina Sunday.
Big men Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson continued their strong play for Memphis, as the Tigers improved to 17-14 (8-10 American Athletic Conference) on the year. Lawson recorded 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Goodwin added 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks.
This was one of the hottest-shooting performances of the season for Memphis, as the Tigers finished 34 of 63 from field (54 percent) and 10 of 23 from behind the arc (43.5 percent). Junior guard Avery Woodson struck fire from deep, adding six 3-pointers of his own. Woodson finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-11 shooting (6-10 from behind the arc) and senior forward Trahson Burrell added 13 points, six assists, five steals and three rebounds.
Memphis finished with 24 assists on 34 made baskets.
The offensive end of the floor wasn’t the only area Memphis was thriving though. In fact, Memphis played extremely well on the defensive end, holding the Pirates to just 38.2 percent shooting from the field and just 16 percent from behind the arc. Memphis also racked up 13 steals on 22 ECU turnovers.
Leading the way for ECU (12-19, 4-14 AAC) was sophomore guard B.J. Tyson. Tyson, who torched Memphis for a career-high tying 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the Pirates 84-83 win in Memphis earlier this year, was held to just 12 points Sunday.
Junior forward Michael Nzge finished with 11 points and four rebounds and junior guard Caleb White added 10 points, and three steals for the Pirates.
Although the win doesn’t affect the Tigers’ conference seeding, the 30-point victory gives Memphis some much needed momentum heading into next week’s American Athletic Conference Tournament.
No. 6 seeded Memphis will take on No. 3 seeded Tulsa 8 p.m. Friday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
Memphis defeated the Golden Hurricane 92-82 at the FedExForum on Memphis’ Senior Day just last week. The Tigers will need to win three-straight games to take home the AAC Tournament title and an automatic bid to play in the NCAA Tournament later this month.
