Memphis’ head coach Penny Hardaway speaks to PJ Haggerty (4) in a huddle during a timeout during the game between East Carolina University and University of Memphis at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, January 11, 2025. PJ Haggerty scored 18 points to help No. 18 Memphis churn out a 77-68 road victory over Charlotte on Sunday afternoon.
Tyrese Hunter chipped in 15 points and distributed five assists and reserve Dain Dainja contributed 14 points for Memphis (14-4, 4-1 American Athletic Conference), which recovered after falling 88-81 Thursday night at Temple. The Tigers have won five of their last six games.
Jaehshon Thomas racked up 18 points and Kylan Blackmon and Giancarlo Rosado each had 12 points for Charlotte (7-12, 0-6), which is the only team in the AAC without a league victory. The 49ers, who also received 10 points from Nik Graves, have lost seven in a row.
Charlotte was undone by 38.6-percent shooting from the field, including 32.1 percent from 3-point range. Thomas canned four of the 49ers’ nine triples.
Memphis outrebounded Charlotte 42-28 to help override its 16 turnovers. Dainja had nine boards and Haggerty and Moussa Cisse both pulled in eight.
The 49ers closed within 53-43 with about 13 minutes left before the Tigers scored 10 straight to pull away. Haggerty’s 3-pointer at the 7:50 mark stretched the lead to 66-45.
Charlotte closed the game on a 19-6 run to make the final score more respectable.
The Tigers had eight different players score to help build a 22-14 lead. The margin hit 20 when Hunter drilled a 3-pointer to make it 36-16 with 4:40 left in the first half.
After leading 11-10, the 49ers fell into an offensive funk. They managed five points over the next 11-plus minutes as Memphis seized control.
Memphis led 41-25 at halftime, boosted by seven of their 15 field goals coming from 3-point range. Colby Rogers had all nine of his points for Memphis in the first half on three 3s.
Both teams fired often from 3-point range in the first half. The Tigers attempted 16 of their 26 shots from beyond the arc, while the 49ers took 17 of their 30 first-half shots from 3-point range, making five.
–Field Level Media
