NASSAU, Bahamas – The Memphis Tigers (1-3) came up short 80-71 against the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers (5-0) at the Baha Mar Convention Center on Thursday night.
After a troubling 92-78 home loss to UNLV on Sunday, the Tigers showed up with better energy and effort, fighting until the very end against the nation's top team.
"Proud of the guys' effort, but we don't accept moral victories," Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway said. "If we played this hard all year, we'd be 3-1 instead of 1-3."
The Tigers got off to a fast start as a tip in layup by Simon Majok gave Memphis a 13-4 lead early. Purdue fought back and with 9:13 left to go in the half, the Boilermakers tied the game 18-18.
"I thought coach Hardaway had his team ready to play," Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. "He started the game with a lot of length (in the lineup), and we missed some shots."
Purdue used this momentum and extended the lead to seven at 23-20, after a turnaround jumper from Braden Smith. Memphis regained the lead briefly following the two free throws from Zach Davis, but Braden Smith of Purdue drained a three pointer to make the score 36-35 going into halftime.
Memphis opened the second half like they did the first with a quick 5-0 run and led 40-36. Purdue responded by going on a 19-8 run, making the score 55-48. Memphis battled back and after the jumper from Ashton Hardaway, the Tigers tied the game at 59-59.
In what would turn into a pivotal moment, Memphis' Aaron Bradshaw received a technical foul after falling to the floor with the Tigers up. That foul was his fifth, and an already depleted Tiger frontcourt struggled to defend the rest of the contest.
From this point on, Purdue took control of the game and pushed the lead to 10, after an and-one from Oscar Cluff of Purdue. Purdue sustained this momentum and secured the victory 80-71. Memphis had a couple of opportunities to put the Boilermakers under pressure late, but the three pointers did not fall for the Tigers.
After hitting their first three three-point attempts, the Tigers finished the game just 4-19 from beyond the arch.
Dug McDaniel led the Tigers with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Zach Davis, Tariq Ingraham and Sincere Parker all finished in double-figures as well in the losing effort.
The Memphis Tigers will play Wake Forest on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in the Baha Mar Convention Center. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
