Tigers shut down UTEP 65-47

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The crowd was electric. The atmosphere was a typical University of Memphis game and the Tigers (24-8) held serve at home as hosts of the Conference USA Tournament as they beat the UTEP Miners 65-47. Three Tigers scored in double figures and they were again stingy on defense as they held the Miners to just 34.0 percent shooting (17-of-50) on the game.

“That was a good win, UTEP’s a really good team,” said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. “They made it a grind it out game and we grinded it out and found a way through the defense to get the win – it wasn’t pretty but we got the W.”

Sophomores Joe Jackson and big man Tarik Black led the Tiger attack. Jackson scored 17 points, dished out four assists and had five steals, while logging 35 minutes at the point. Black was impressive from the floor, collecting a double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and playing a team-high 36 minutes. Sophomore guard Chris Crawford also cracked double-digits with 11 points, seven assists and five boards.

“I’ve been doing better with fouls by watching film and learning new ways to move my feet and positioning,” Black said. “The proof is in the pudding with how I’m playing – I’m getting better.”

Reigning C-USA Player of the Year Will Barton didn’t have his normal stellar game. Barton got into foul trouble early, causing him to sit. And with getting a technical foul after an altercation with UTEP’s Cedrick Lang, those earlier fouls kept him off the floor for a significant part of the second half. He finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

But the Tigers stayed the course and managed to build on a 5-point halftime lead to eventually create a 14-point edge that UTEP would cut down to six. The resolve of the Tigers allowed them regain momentum and pull away late, thus winning by a double digit margin of 18.

“Will just had an off game today,” Pastner said. “It was just one of those things that maybe he was too ready and too pumped up to play. I don’t know if it had anything to do with winning the Player of the Year or what. But he just had an off day today.”

Freshman Adonis Thomas did see some action, but after being out for the better part of two months, he showed some rust. Thomas finished the game playing eight minutes and scoring two points. Sophomore Antonio Barton also saw playing time after missing the Tigers’ regular season finale at Tulsa due to a foot sprain. Antonio played just 11 minutes, scoring four points.

The Tigers return to action tomorrow to play the winner of the UAB/UCF game. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.