The crowd of 18,248 at FedExForum had fallen out of the game and lost hope in a Memphis victory on Saturday, but senior guard Joe Jackson - listed generously at 6 feet and 1 inch - met Gonzaga's 7-foot-1 center Przemek Karnowski at the rim and blocked a dunk that would have pushed the Bulldog's lead to 13.
Suddenly, the No. 20 University of Memphis men's basketball team was getting stops and turning those stops into points on the offensive end. The crowd roared along with the Tigers' momentum that carried them to a 60-54 win over the Zags - ranked 23rd at the time before falling out of the top 25 on Monday.
The improbable block - the type of play Tiger fans talk about for decades after - ignited a 7-0 run by the U of M (18-5, 7-3 AAC) to pull within striking distance of the Bulldog lead, but it did more than that according to Memphis head coach Josh Pastner, who said the crowd was the loudest he has ever heard since beginning his stint in Memphis.
"Joe Jackson's block on the seven-footer gave us the spark that we needed to pull off the win," the fifth-year coach said after the game. "That block started the run we needed. The crowd also had a huge influence on the way we finished the game."
The Zags (21-4, 11-1 West Coast) bolted out on another small run of their own, but nine points by Memphis' senior guard Michael Dixon Jr. gave the Tigers the final push they needed to overtake the Bulldogs with a minute and 47 seconds left en route to their third top-25 win of the season.
At the half, Memphis trailed by only three after jumping out to a 12-5 lead to the start the game, but the Tigers went cold from the field shooting an atrocious 9 for 34 from the field in the first half and 19-55 in the game.
Chris Crawford, Memphis' senior guard, made three of his six shots from behind the arc and kept the struggling Memphis offense afloat for a short stretch.
The Zags came out of the locker room at halftime like a team on a mission, scoring on their first eight possessions.
Dixon said the energy of this game rivaled the last ESPN GameDay he played in while at Missouri against Kansas, and these are the types of game he loves to compete in.
"The fans were great," the Missouri transfer said. "These are the types of games you have to win to be a great team."
In addition to a double-digit deficit, foul trouble made a win seem unlikely for the deflated crowd and Tiger bench. Sophomore forward Shaq Goodwin picked up his fourth foul with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. Freshman big man Dominic Woodson had already received a flagrant two, which results in ejection, for a foul earlier in the second half, and freshman Austin Nichols struggled to do anything effectively on either end of the floor the entire night. The other reserve, senior David Pellom, has been nursing a knee injury and didn't look like himself all night.
Pastner - searching for an answer and spark - turned to freshman forward Nick King. King has averaged only 10.3 minutes per game this season - mostly against subpar opponents, but he burst into the game against the Zags to give the Tigers a much needed spark, grabbing four key offensive rebounds in the second half and scoring six huge points.
Pastner and all the Memphis players lavished praise on the freshman after the game.
"Nick was ready when he was called," Crawford said. "We fed off his energy even though he's just a freshman."
King, whose biggest game of the season came against a top-25 Oklahoma State team in Stillwater, Okla., said he loves the big stage and moments.
"You've always got to be ready," King, who didn't expect to play such big minutes, said. "I love the packed crowd and big games. Some players get nervous, but I love it."
The Blue and Gray finish their home stand with a conference game on Wednesday against Central Florida at the FedExForum. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be shown on ESPNU.
