Three Man Weave: UC Loses to Memphis 87-80 in Wild AAC Battle

The Bearcats fall to 1-2 in conference play.

CINCINNATI — A wild 39 minutes played out with a bevy of lead changes and impressive shotmaking until the Memphis Tigers (9-5, 3-1) took control in the final seconds of their 87-80 victory over Cincinnati (11-5, 1-2).

The leading guards for UC answered wave after wave of athletic dynamism from Memphis, but crucial turnovers in the final minute paired with foul trouble and a lackluster day at the free-throw line (2-of-6) sealed their fate.

Here's the Three Man Weave from a wildly entertaining matchup between two of the best teams in the AAC.

Tyler Harris Throws Daggers

Memphis needed a lead ballhandler to make a mark with leading-assist man Alex Lomax missed the game due to injury, and Tyler Harris (team-high 20 points, three assists) answered the bell.

The 5-foot-9 guard snuck his way into open holes in the Bearcats off-ball defense and hit shots all over three-point range (3-for-5 from outside). Harris kept the ball on a string most of the game and played a season-high 26 minutes when the Tigers needed him most (team-high plus-11 for the game).

Freshman phenom Jalen Duren (3-for-10 from the field, seven points, five rebounds) struggled matching up against veteran center Abdul Ado. That opened a scoring void that Harris and Emoni Bates (12 points, seven rebounds, team-high six assists) gladly filled coming off the bench.

Memphis was missing some players in this game, but it was hard to notice with 45 bench points. They physically outmanned Cincinnati on the glass (26-21) and near the basket (42-24). Josh Minott (14 points, 10 rebounds) had a lot to do with that. The bouncy freshman punished the rim with multiple slams on a day where Memphis had 14 dunks to none for UC.

Harris and Lester Quinones (18 points, 3-for-6 from deep) added just enough spice on the outside to keep the Bearcats at bay.

Bearcats Lose On The Margins...And Lose The Game

Cincinnati needed to keep Memphis off of the free-throw line in this game and force turnovers. They didn't do enough of either to win. The Tigers averaged the most turnovers in the country (18.4) and foul shots (24.7) coming into the game.

Penny Hardaway's team only committed 11 turnovers on Sunday and went 16-for-19 at the line. Harris was a big part of both after coming into the game averaging 6.8 points and 13.5 minutes. He led the team with 5-for-6 shooting at the free-throw line, and one was one of four Tigers to commit zero turnovers.

The game hung in the balance at 80-79 with less than a minute left. Memphis had a 7-0 made free throw advantage and a 2-0 turnover edge from that point on. AAC road games are hard to capture, and they often require sound late-game execution. 

Cincinnati didn't have that in the cards on Sunday.

Bearcats Guards Rain Fire And Hope

The starting lineup for UC did all they could to keep a win on the table, starting with Jeremiah Davenport (21 points, career-high 7-of-10 from three, six rebounds).

The junior put on a display from outside on a day where Cincinnati scored 60% of its points on 16-of-30 shooting from outside. The Tigers stayed stubborn with the 3-2 zone, and Davenport kept finding ways to navigate open looks with no double team to fend off.

Mika Adams-Woods (15 points, 3-of-4 from three, six assists, five rebounds) and David Dejulius (15 points, six assists, three rebounds) were perfect encores to Davenport's fire-breathing display. This guard trio is quickly making a case for the best-in-conference status.

Adams-Woods and Dejulius mine efficient offense on most possessions, and the latter is finding a groove with individual shotmaking off the dribble. Cincinnati needs to find a way to get more easy looks at the free-throw line, but the trio is cooking in the meantime.

Second-chance points made a huge difference in this game. Memphis led in that department 22-7 and still found itself losing with 50 seconds to play. A more even round of offensive rebounding from UC that provides some extra shots for the guard trio could be just what the doctor ordered when the Bearcats try to split with Memphis at Fifth Third Arena on Feb. 3.

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