The FedExForum was rocking as the Memphis Tigers defeated the UCF Knights 64-63 in a game that came down to the wire.
The Tigers captured their 20th win of the season and their 10th conference win of the season.
The Tigers were led by Elijah McCadden with 16 points and DeAndre Williams helped with 12 points.
Kendric Davis provided 10 points while also breaking the AAC all-time scoring record.
Eight minutes into the game the Tigers were blazing hot in the first half, going on a 19-4 run in the first three minutes of the game.
At one point in the first half, the Tigers were shooting 80 percent from the field. Meanwhile, UCF shot 18 percent from the field.
The Tigers were not just being elite on the offensive end as they were just as elite on defense. The great perimeter and post-defense rattled UCF in the first 5 minutes of the half.
That was until Tigers senior guard Kendric Davis went down with an ankle injury at the 4:25 minute mark of the first half.
Davis rolled in agony as he was escorted to the locker room where he would be ruled out for the rest of the game.
Coach Hardaway has said there is no real update on Davis’ injury, but it does look to be serious.
When Davis left the court, the game went back and forth in the remaining few minutes of the first half. Going into the second half the Knights were shooting 35 percent from the field and the Tigers shooting 63 percent in the first half.
Coming out of the second half, Davis returned to the game on crutches and a walking boot. Davis' impact was felt when the team went on a four-minute drought in the second half.
The Tigers only scored one field goal in the last ten minutes of the game while also committing 10 turnovers in that period.
UCF would gain their first lead of the game in the second half 63-62 with 2:31 on the clock.
One of the key plays of the game was when Deandre Williams stole the ball on a fast break with 1:28 on the clock, but he was stripped by UCF guard Jayhlon Young. That was Williams' seventh turnover of the game.
Turnovers proved to be a crucial factor in the Tigers’ second-half collapse as they turned the ball over 24 times and 16 times in the second half.
The game would come down to one key play as Damaria Franklin stole the ball and hit a game-winning layup with seven seconds left. The Tigers would defend and hold on to the close win.
Penny Hardaway said “Damaria had the best steal of the game and year. Shoutout to the student section. They were tremendous with the noise. That having a great home base”
Let’s hope Memphis can keep this momentum without Davis on Sunday as they travel to Houston to take on the Cougars at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN.
