The Lawson brothers combine for 47 points to lead the Memphis Tigers to a an 85-75 win over the USF Bulls.  Both teams started out cold on offense, scoring just nine points apiece with 13:01 left in the first half.  The Tigers would soon heat up, due to a strong first half performance by K.J., and Dedric Lawson.  They scored 14 and 18 points respectively in the first period of play.  Memphis led by as much as 16, but the Bulls came back to narrow the gap to just five points to trail 35-30 going into halftime. 

The second half was a repeat of the first, with Memphis leading by double digits throughout, peaking at an 18 point lead with just 1:42 remaining in the game.  The Bulls would finish strong, but came up short, losing by ten at home. 

Dedric Lawson would finish the game with 29 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.  His brother, K.J., earned a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Memphis guard, Jeremiah Martin, was the third Tiger to finish in double digit scoring with 15 points. 

For the Bulls, forward, Malik Fitts, had an outstanding game.  Fitts had a double-double of his own, scoring 28 and bringing down 11 rebounds.  Guard, Michael Bibby, and forward, Tulio Da Silva each scored 13. 

Sloppy ball handling once again doomed the Bulls, who gave up 14 steals and only gained 4 of their own, and turned the ball over 18 times to the Tigers’ 11.  Still, the coach and the players do not seem defeated, despite their ten game losing skid.  Part of the reason for optimism is the fact that the three lead scorers for the Bulls in this game are freshman.  Additionally, they are playing without guard, Geno Thorpe, who is recovering from an injury. 

“I’m proud of the effort, proud of the fight,” said interim USF head coach, Murry Bartow, after the game.  “I’ve been a part of games that have been 19 point games that could easily go to 30.  Hopefully, that shows you a little bit about where our team is.  I’m not happy at all about losing, but there is just a lot of fight in these guys.”

The Tigers improve to 17-6 on the season, while the Bulls drop to 6-15.  Memphis will visit the nearby UCF Knights on Saturday.  The Bulls will head to Philadelphia to face Temple for a 1:00 PM tipoff.  That game can be viewed on ESPN3.  

 

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