Four Tigers scored in double digits and two finished with double-doubles as Memphis thrashed Wofford, 88-61, before a crowd of 13,586 Tuesday night at the Pyramid during the opening round of the Guardians Classic.
The No. 12 Tigers now face Old Dominion in the second round tonight at 7:30 after the Monarchs knocked off Sacramento State, 69-52, in the first game of the tournament Tuesday. The winner of the Memphis/Old Dominion game will travel to Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., next week for semifinal action.
“I liked our effort,” head coach John Calipari said. “I liked our intensity. We were really sloppy, 21 turnovers, really sloppy. But we’re trying to incorporate five new guys in our top nine.”
Despite Memphis’ turnovers, the Tigers (1-0) led the entire game, except for a brief stint in the first half when Wofford (0-1) took a 14-13 lead on a putback by senior center Kenny Hastie.
After a Memphis timeout, the Tigers got the ball to junior big man Chris Massie, who scored easily in the low post, igniting a 9-0 Memphis run. Massie capped the run with a break-away slam on an assist from 6-10 forward Kelly Wise, who had been leading the fast break after picking off a Wofford pass.
The Tigers would go on to limit Wofford to just 37.9 percent shooting in the first half while hitting on 57.1 percent of their shots in building a 43-29 lead at the half.
Massie led Memphis at halftime with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds. He slowed down in the second half, missing both of his shots and pulling down just one rebound.
“Chris Massie had an unbelievable first half,” Calipari said. “Now he needs to learn to sustain.”
The Tigers opened the first seven minutes of the second half on a 20-2 run which put the Terriers away for good. Wise and freshman guard Dajuan Wagner combined to score 13 of those 20.
Wagner finished the contest with a team-high 18 points, but hit on just 6-of-17 shots. He also dished out four assists and had two steals.
“I liked the play where they know they were being (substituted for) and Dajuan Wagner drives down the court and could have shot the ball, but what’s he do? Flips it to Kelly Wise,” Calipari said. “That’s important to me, because that’s the kind of plays that are going to keep this team together.”
Wagner said he was anxious to get off to a good start in his college debut and his excitement may have had some effect on his shooting.
“Once I calm down, I’ll be straight,” he said. “I like playing games back-to-back. I should be better tomorrow.”
According to Calipari, many of his young players, including Wagner, are just becoming accustomed to playing before large crowds at The Pyramid.
“Some of these guys haven’t played in front of more than 400 people,” Calipari said. They’ve got to learn to grind it out. We eventually wore (Wofford) down with our size and our athleticism.”
Guard Scooter McFadgon, who hit on all three of his three-point attempts, finished the game with 17 points. McFadgon and Massie combined to score 16 of the Tigers’ first 17 points.
“I just play hard and everyone else comes in and plays hard,” McFadgon said. “Things start to happen.”
Wise recorded a double-double for the third consecutive game with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Antonio Burks led Memphis with six assists.
Freshmen Duane Erwin, Anthony Rice and junior center Earl Barron combined to score 20 points off the bench.
Wofford freshman guard Justin Stephens scored a game-high 19 points, adding six assists.
The Terriers will take on Sacramento State at 5 p.m. in the regional consolation contest.
