When the Memphis Tigers got off to a 20-4 lead against the University of Central Florida Knights on Sunday, it seemed as this would turn into a routine win.
However, UCF had other ideas. They rallied to a tie with four seconds left in the game, and even had a chance to win it after a Kedren Johnson turnover with 1.3 seconds left.
Luckily for the Tigers, UCF guard B.J. Taylor missed the game-winning attempt, and Memphis (17-10, 9-5 American Athletic Conference) would go on to beat UCF (12-14, 5-10 AAC) 75-65 in overtime, outscoring the Knights 16-6 in the overtime period.
Austin Nichols, who was not named in the starting lineup for the first time in his career due to a minor infraction, only scored two points in the first nine-and-half minutes. But he came alive in the second half and in overtime by scoring 18 of 20 points in the two periods. He also had seven rebounds and three blocks in the win.
Nichols was named the AAC Player of the Week Monday. He averaged 18 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5 blocks in the two Tiger wins last week.
It looked like the Tigers wouldn’t need much from Nichols in the first half initially. Memphis started the game shooting 8-9 from the field, without him, en route to building that 16-point first half lead over the Knights.
Memphis then went through another “scoring drought”, and finished the half shooting only 46 percent. As a result, it left the door open for UCF, and they took advantage cutting the lead to 31-28 by halftime.
Apart from poor shooting, turnovers also became a problem for the Tigers late in the first half. After committing only two turnovers in the first 12 minutes. They had five in the final eight minutes, and lost the turnover battle to the Knights in the first half seven to six. Both teams would finish with 13 turnovers for the game.
However, everyone was scoring for Memphis in the first half. Nine different Tigers scored in the opening period. Forward Shaq Goodwin led Memphis in scoring in the first half with six points and also had three rebounds. He finished the game with eight points on 4-7 shooting, 10 rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes of play.
UCF hung around though, because they lived and died by the three-point shot. The Knights shot 28 threes in the game, making seven.
Memphis struggled mightily from three as well, shooting only 5-26 from long range.
Avery Woodson did make three three-pointers, though one of them was given because of basket interference. It took him 12 tries to get them, however. He was cold overall, shooting 3-14 for the game, and finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Nick King who got the start in place of Nichols, finished with six points and eight rebounds.
Johnson struggled to carry over his terrific performance from the UConn game as he only shot 4-12 from the field and had five turnovers. He would still manage to score 13 points and dish out four assists, showing flashes of that All-SEC form at times.
The Tigers defense held UCF to 38 percent shooting for the game, offsetting the fact Memphis’ percentage went all the way down to 39 percent after the 8-9 shooting start. The Knights also struggled from the free throw line shooting only 8-19, while Memphis shot 16-21 from the charity stripe.
Guard Brandon Goodwin had a solid game for the Knights as he led them with 15 points on 6-13 shooting. He also had five rebounds, four assists and four steals in the loss.
UCF forward Staphon Blair nearly missed out on a double-double as he was a force inside. He scored 12 points and nine rebounds along with three blocks.
Memphis will hope to extend their three-game winning streak when the no.21 SMU Mustangs come to FedExForum on Thursday. The game is at 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.
