Dain Dainja had game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds as No. 18 Memphis pulled away in the last two minutes for an 84-72 American Athletic Conference win over visiting Rice on Wednesday night.
PJ Haggerty added 21 points and five assists for the Tigers (23-5, 13-2 AAC), while Nicholas Jourdain contributed 19 points and nine rebounds. Memphis shot 49.2 percent from the field in securing a season sweep of the Owls.
Caden Powell scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures for Rice (13-16, 4-12). Denver Anglin added 14 points, Andrew Akuchie had 12 and Kellen Amos came off the bench for 11.
Despite making only 41.4 percent from the field, the Owls had a legitimate chance to pull off the upset after Powell’s dunk tied the score at 70 with 3:51 left. They even got a stop and had possession with an opportunity to take the lead.
But a steal by Colby Rogers led to Tyrese Hunter’s short jumper at the 2:39 mark. The bucket ignited a game-ending 14-2 run.
One pregame storyline was whether Memphis could push its conference lead to 1 1/2 games over idle North Texas and UAB. Meanwhile, Rice was trying to build on a 71-50 win over Tulsa on Saturday that snapped a four-game losing streak.
It was all Tigers in the first five minutes as they established Dainja for seven quick points and a 13-3 lead. The margin was 12 when Rogers made two free throws at the 11:28 mark, and it appeared Memphis would have an easy game.
But the Owls hit them with a 12-2 run to pull within 23-21 on Powell’s layup with 8:04 remaining. Memphis restored a nine-point advantage on two occasions before settling for a 39-32 cushion at the break on a free throw by Haggerty with five seconds left.
–Field Level Media
