It wasn't the picture-perfect start that many fans envisioned, but The University of Memphis men's basketball team made sure its first game had a happy ending.
The Tigers struggled early with miscommunication, as they threw errant passes out of bounds and missed several easy shots. After just seven minutes of play, The U of M trailed LeMoyne-Owen, 18-11.
After a quick timeout, the Tigers began to settle in defensively and forced the Magicians into four turnovers in a row with full-court pressure.
The U of M finally took a 24-23 lead when freshman guard Joe Jackson wove through a double-team and scored a layup in traffic, then got fouled and made the free throw with 8:08 left in the first half. From there the Tigers never looked back, eventually defeating the Magicians, 106-49, in an exhibition matchup at FedExForum on Wednesday night.
"I expected us to come out to a slow start," junior forward Wesley Witherspoon said. "It was our first time all playing together in front of our home fan base, and it showed. But now that we're used to playing together, it should be fun."
In a night in which the squad's lone senior, forward Will Coleman, finished with seven points and seven rebounds and Witherspoon played just 15 minutes, the team's newcomers were the ones who stepped up.
Junior college transfer Charles Carmouche led The U of M with 18 points, freshman forward Tarik Black chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds and each of the team's first-year players got on the scoreboard.
"That shows the kind of freshman class we have," Witherspoon said. "The upperclassmen didn't have to play as long because they were out there taking care of business."
Carmouche, who was inserted into the starting lineup along with freshman guard Antonio Barton - thanks to their rebounding numbers at practice - said his responsibility included more than just scoring points.
"Letting everybody know they were going to make runs, but we were going to make runs too - that's just part of the game," he said.
The U of M closed the first half on a 27-3 run, ending in the same manner as it began - a Jackson layup - which came just seconds before the halftime buzzer. The Tigers led 45-26 at the break.
The U of M kept up its defensive pressure in the second half, scoring quick points by creating turnovers. A steal by freshman guard Chris Crawford led to a wide-open breakout for Witherspoon, whose two-hand tomahawk dunk put the Tigers up, 62-33, with 16:10 left in the contest.
The Tigers eventually forced LeMoyne-Owen into 27 turnovers, which resulted in 43 points.
In addition to tight defensive pressure, second-year coach Josh Pastner's focus on hitting the glass paid off, as the Tigers outrebounded the Magicians, 50-23.
Still, Coleman wasn't satisfied.
"No disrespect to LeMoyne-Owen - all of them played hard - but their biggest guy was 6-foot-7," he said. "No disrespect, but me and Black, we should have killed them."
The U of M also hit the glass on its own missed shots, edging the Magicians, 17-10, in offensive rebounds.
Drew Barham's offensive board with 14 minutes left in the game led to an easy 3-pointer for the sophomore guard, to put the Tigers up, 70-37. Barham finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
The Tigers also pounded the ball inside and attacked the basket at will, edging LeMoyne-Owen in paint points, 46-10.
"Overall, I'm really proud of the guys," Pastner said. "They played hard, they competed. LeMoyne-Owen gave a very good effort - they're well-coached - it just happened to be where we got on a run and wore them down with our depth. We've got some good players."
The Magicians got double-digit scoring off their bench from A.J. Nance and Gerald Robertson, who finished with 10 and 11 points, respectively. No LeMoyne-Owen player had more than five rebounds.
U of M freshman walk-on Trey Draper answered the student section's chant of "We Want 100!" with a corner 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the game. The Tigers then took their biggest lead of the night, a 57-point advantage, on a pair of free throws from Crawford just eight seconds later.
In perhaps the most telling stat, The U of M finished with a 22-10 advantage in assists, which showed the Tigers' willingness to share the ball at such an early point in the season. With so many players that simply dominated in high school, Pastner said, it was encouraging to see them meshing as a cohesive unit.
"We have emphasized, more than anything, making the open pass and finding the open man," Pastner said. "We've had more team-building and more team chemistry sessions than we've ever had before. It spreads throughout when you have a lot of positive energy."
For Witherspoon, the game stood as a testament to how the Tigers have to play throughout the season.
"It's a learning experience," he said. "Now we know that we have to come in and play hard every night, in and out, no matter who our opponent is. We've just got to play hard every possession."
