The University of Memphis Tigers (2-0) continue the Tubby Smith era unbeaten with a 68-54 win over the Milwaukee Panthers (1-1) on Wednesday night, just two days after opening their season with a 94-75 win over University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Dedric Lawson led the Tigers with 23 point and 10 rebounds, giving him double-doubles in both games to start the season. His brother, K.J., added 11 points and 11 rebounds, his first career double-double, while Markel Crawford chipped in 15.
“We really shared the basketball once again – we played unselfishly,” Smith said. “We did what we had to do to get the win tonight.”
Crawford, Dedric and K.J. all went into double figures scoring, and it was fitting that the Tigers were led by three hometown kids.
“It means a lot. All three of us (with Dedric and K.J.) dreamt of these moments,” Crawford said. “It’s three Memphis guys who were the leading scorers for Memphis. It’s a dream come true for us.”
Jeremiah Martin, another hometown kid, once again looked good playing point guard following up his 13-point, six-assist performance on Monday with six points, eight assists, four rebounds, three steals, three blocks, and, most importantly, zero turnovers.
“I’ve see Jeremiah’s confidence grow from last year to this year,” K.J. said. “Coach Smith trusts him as his point guard to run his team. You could see the swag he had back at Mitchell. He’s just confident.”
“I think confidence is at an all-time high for each player,” Crawford added.
Milwaukee jumped out to a 11-6 early lead, but Dedric scored eight-straight points to give Memphis a 14-11 lead. The Tigers never looked back, taking a 38-24 lead into halftime.
The Panthers threatened in the second half, cutting the lead to seven on a couple of different occasions, but the Tigers always had an answer.
“We just stayed poise throughout,” K.J said. “We had to execute, and coach told us we had to win on the defensive end.”
After committing 16 turnovers in the season opener, the Tigers only turned it over seven times including just once in the first half, leading to a 14-point halftime lead.
“It was outstanding,” Smith said about the way his team took care of the ball. “We were playing against a very good team. The key to the game was us taking care of the basketball – especially in the first half. We played a good, smart basketball game tonight.”
One blemish on the evening for the Tigers were their struggles at the free throw line where Memphis finished just 2-12.
“I’ve never had a team shoot this poorly from the free throw line, and, yes, I’m very frustrated,” Smith said. “Overall, we did get to the free throw line. We got the ball inside when we had to, but it could have been a more comfortable score if we made free throws.”
Defensively is where Memphis wants to hang its hat, and Smith said, for the most part, he liked what he saw from the Tigers tonight.
“We can be very good,” he said. “We have length and athleticism. We have guys that are very versatile defensively. We have to sell them on the fact that they’ve got to be good on the defensive end.”
Memphis’ next game will be Saturday against Savannah St. at 11 a.m. inside the FedExForum. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
Memphis defeats Milwaukee 68-54
