03-10-2018, 11:35 AM
ORLANDO â No one, it seems, has more of a flair for the dramatic this season for the University of Memphis than Kareem Brewton Jr.
The Tigers' junior point guard had a last-second jumper to beat Temple in overtime Jan. 13. Friday at the Amway Center, he picked a bigger stage for an encore.
In the waning seconds of the U of M's Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinal against Tulsa, Brewton raced downcourt after taking an inbounds pass and lofted a one-handed floater from beyond the arc that landed the Tigers in Saturday's semifinals.
Brewton's shot beat the buzzer and lifted the Tigers (21-12) to a 67-64 victory over No. 4 seed Tulsa (19-12). The game-winner set off a celebration near the baseline as players and coaches mobbed Brewton, nearly pushing him into the U of M band in nearby seating.
"What a clutch shot Kareem Brewton made there at the end," Tiger coach Tubby Smith said. "I thought our guys showed a lot of courage, a lot of heart and a lot of toughness. It was an impressive win for us. We're excited about advancing."
Memphis, the No. 5 seed, will meet top seed Cincinnati at noon in the first semifinal. The Bearcats, who received a first-round bye, advanced with a 61-51 win over SMU earlier on Friday. The Tigers opened play in the tournament with a 79-77 first-round victory Thursday over USF.
Memphis remained on a late-season roll by winning for the seventh time in eight games.
Brewton and Kyvon Davenport led the Tigers with 15 points apiece, Mike Parks Jr., scored 14 â 10 in the second half â and Jamal Johnson finished with 12. Raynere Thornton came off the bench to lead the team with 11 rebounds.
Davenport had the second-biggest shot in the final minute. He buried a 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 64-63 lead. Twenty-three seconds later, Tulsa's Martins Igbanu hit one of two free throws to tie the game setting up Brewton for his March Madness moment.
Brewton said the plan was for Davenport and Parks to cross the lane at the same time to give Brewton time to drive close, but Brewton said "Mike's man stepped up and there were only 0.5 seconds on the clock."
"So I just stepped up and shot it," Brewton said.
Parks said the team had confidence in Brewton's ability in such a situation
"It was definitely a good feel watching it go in," Parks said. "He had already hit one before (at Temple), so we trusted him to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game."
Ahead by one at halftime, the Tigers started the second half on an 11-2 run to build a 37-29 lead. Midway through the half, Memphis increased its advantage to 11 points, first on a 3-pointer by Johnson and again on the Tigers' next possession on a 3-pointer by Brewton.
But Tulsa kept coming back. The Golden Hurricane made seven straight field goals and followed with a free throw by Sterling Taplin to tie the game at 50 with 7:28 left. Tulsa went ahead (55-54) two minutes later â its first lead since midway through the first half â and led by three, at 57-54 and 59-56, before the Tigers recovered to create a frantic final 90 seconds.
"We had faith in each other," Parks said. "This is very exciting."
Tulsa was led by Corey Henderson Jr., who finished with 20 points. Tulsa struggled from long range going 2-of-16 and shot 41 percent overall.
Memphis shot 50 percent and made 7-of-18 3-pointers to overcome 18 turnovers.
The Tigers led 26-25 at the half, but allowed Tulsa to score nine straight points to end the opening 20 minutes.
Memphis had a 26-16 advantage with 3:59 to go after a free throw by Johnson. Tulsa then began a 9-0 run, one aided by three Tiger turnovers. Junior Etou hit four straight free throws to begin the run and Taplin scored the final five points: four on layups.
The Tigers shot 47.4 percent in the first half, but managed only 19 shots. Tulsa was 8-of-27 shooting for 29.6 percent and missed each of its nine 3-point tries.
NOTABLES
+ The Tigers improved to 5-1 in games without starting point guard Jeremiah Martin, out with a broken foot. Martin was a second-team all-conference selection.
+ Memphis improved to 5-0 versus Tulsa in postseason tournament play. Three of those wins came when both programs were members of Conference USA.
+ Tulsa missed its first 14 3-point attempts before finally connecting. Corey Henderson Jr. hit the first trey for the Golden Hurricane with 8:06 left in the second half. Tulsa finished 2-of-16.
+Memphis shot 50 percent and is 11-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better.
+ Tulsa had won eight of its previous nine games, with the only loss coming Feb. 25 to No. 11 Cincinnati.
+ The loss prevented Tulsa coach Frank Haith from achieving a third 20-win season in four years with the program.
+ Memphis will be playing Cincinnati for the third time this season. The Tigers opened AAC play Dec. 31 with an 82-48 loss to the Bearcats and dropped a 62-48 decision to UC when the Bearcats returned the game Jan. 27 at FedExForum.
http://gotigersgo.com/news/2018/3/9/mens...inals.aspx
The Tigers' junior point guard had a last-second jumper to beat Temple in overtime Jan. 13. Friday at the Amway Center, he picked a bigger stage for an encore.
In the waning seconds of the U of M's Aaron's American Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinal against Tulsa, Brewton raced downcourt after taking an inbounds pass and lofted a one-handed floater from beyond the arc that landed the Tigers in Saturday's semifinals.
Brewton's shot beat the buzzer and lifted the Tigers (21-12) to a 67-64 victory over No. 4 seed Tulsa (19-12). The game-winner set off a celebration near the baseline as players and coaches mobbed Brewton, nearly pushing him into the U of M band in nearby seating.
"What a clutch shot Kareem Brewton made there at the end," Tiger coach Tubby Smith said. "I thought our guys showed a lot of courage, a lot of heart and a lot of toughness. It was an impressive win for us. We're excited about advancing."
Memphis, the No. 5 seed, will meet top seed Cincinnati at noon in the first semifinal. The Bearcats, who received a first-round bye, advanced with a 61-51 win over SMU earlier on Friday. The Tigers opened play in the tournament with a 79-77 first-round victory Thursday over USF.
Memphis remained on a late-season roll by winning for the seventh time in eight games.
Brewton and Kyvon Davenport led the Tigers with 15 points apiece, Mike Parks Jr., scored 14 â 10 in the second half â and Jamal Johnson finished with 12. Raynere Thornton came off the bench to lead the team with 11 rebounds.
Davenport had the second-biggest shot in the final minute. He buried a 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 64-63 lead. Twenty-three seconds later, Tulsa's Martins Igbanu hit one of two free throws to tie the game setting up Brewton for his March Madness moment.
Brewton said the plan was for Davenport and Parks to cross the lane at the same time to give Brewton time to drive close, but Brewton said "Mike's man stepped up and there were only 0.5 seconds on the clock."
"So I just stepped up and shot it," Brewton said.
Parks said the team had confidence in Brewton's ability in such a situation
"It was definitely a good feel watching it go in," Parks said. "He had already hit one before (at Temple), so we trusted him to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game."
Ahead by one at halftime, the Tigers started the second half on an 11-2 run to build a 37-29 lead. Midway through the half, Memphis increased its advantage to 11 points, first on a 3-pointer by Johnson and again on the Tigers' next possession on a 3-pointer by Brewton.
But Tulsa kept coming back. The Golden Hurricane made seven straight field goals and followed with a free throw by Sterling Taplin to tie the game at 50 with 7:28 left. Tulsa went ahead (55-54) two minutes later â its first lead since midway through the first half â and led by three, at 57-54 and 59-56, before the Tigers recovered to create a frantic final 90 seconds.
"We had faith in each other," Parks said. "This is very exciting."
Tulsa was led by Corey Henderson Jr., who finished with 20 points. Tulsa struggled from long range going 2-of-16 and shot 41 percent overall.
Memphis shot 50 percent and made 7-of-18 3-pointers to overcome 18 turnovers.
The Tigers led 26-25 at the half, but allowed Tulsa to score nine straight points to end the opening 20 minutes.
Memphis had a 26-16 advantage with 3:59 to go after a free throw by Johnson. Tulsa then began a 9-0 run, one aided by three Tiger turnovers. Junior Etou hit four straight free throws to begin the run and Taplin scored the final five points: four on layups.
The Tigers shot 47.4 percent in the first half, but managed only 19 shots. Tulsa was 8-of-27 shooting for 29.6 percent and missed each of its nine 3-point tries.
NOTABLES
+ The Tigers improved to 5-1 in games without starting point guard Jeremiah Martin, out with a broken foot. Martin was a second-team all-conference selection.
+ Memphis improved to 5-0 versus Tulsa in postseason tournament play. Three of those wins came when both programs were members of Conference USA.
+ Tulsa missed its first 14 3-point attempts before finally connecting. Corey Henderson Jr. hit the first trey for the Golden Hurricane with 8:06 left in the second half. Tulsa finished 2-of-16.
+Memphis shot 50 percent and is 11-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better.
+ Tulsa had won eight of its previous nine games, with the only loss coming Feb. 25 to No. 11 Cincinnati.
+ The loss prevented Tulsa coach Frank Haith from achieving a third 20-win season in four years with the program.
+ Memphis will be playing Cincinnati for the third time this season. The Tigers opened AAC play Dec. 31 with an 82-48 loss to the Bearcats and dropped a 62-48 decision to UC when the Bearcats returned the game Jan. 27 at FedExForum.
http://gotigersgo.com/news/2018/3/9/mens...inals.aspx