The Tigers will play few halves this season as ugly as the first 20 minutes tonight against Arkansas State. They fell behind 11-2 and 22-9 before halftime mercifully came with the home team down but four points (32-28). They took 35 shots . . . and missed 27. Six attempts from beyond the three-point stripe . . . six misses. Three assists and seven turnovers. Exactly one Tiger had more than a single field goal, and Wesley Witherspoon was two for seven.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Will Coleman
ASU was led in the first half by forward Martavius Adams who had 11 points in the first 15 minutes before taking a seat with his third foul. Tiger big men Will Coleman (three fouls) and Pierre Henderson-Niles (two) were also caught up in the banging underneath. Overall the game featured 23 fouls and 19 field goals in the first half.
“We came out slow,” acknowledged Elliot Williams after the game. “They were intense, and we were kind of on our heels. But in the second half we picked up our intensity.” As he has every game this season, the sophomore guard led Memphis in scoring with 20 points, 11 of them after halftime, when he converted five of seven field-goal attempts. (Williams became the first Tiger since Sean Banks in 2004 to have five straight 20-point games.)
