Memphis overwhelms Missouri in second half to win easily

Field Level Media|published: Fri 10th November, 23:54 2023

Memphis' assistant coach Rick Stansbury, who is covering for suspended head coach Penny Hardaway, shouts to his players during the season opener between the University of Memphis and Jackson State University at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, November 6, 2023. credits: Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jahvon Quinerly tallied 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists to help rally Memphis past Missouri 70-55 Friday in Columbia, Mo.

Jaykwon Walton scored 13 points, Jordan Brown added 12, and David Jones scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Memphis (2-0).

Sean East II scored 14 points and Noah Carter added 10 to lead Missouri (1-1).

Memphis trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but flipped the game by temporarily switching to a zone defense that cooled down Missouri's shooting.

Missouri missed 22 of its 28 shots from 3-point range and shot just 32.1 percent overall (18 of 56). Memphis dominated inside en route to a 47-33 rebounding edge and a 38-20 advantage with points in the paint.

With Memphis up 11-10 in the first half, Missouri went on a 16-2 run to take a 26-13 lead.

Carter, Aidan Shaw and East got the run started by scoring in the lane, then East hit a 3-point jumper. Then Missouri went back inside to get a basket from East, a three-point play from Carter and a short jumper from John Tonje.

Shortly after that, Brown scored twice in the lane for Memphis and the game turned. By closing out the half with a 7-2 burst — triggered by Walton's 3-point jumper — Memphis was able to cut its deficit to 33-26.

Missouri missed its last seven shots from 3-point range and finished the half 4-for-17 from beyond the arc.

Memphis scored the first five points of the second half to start a 22-5 run that carried them to a 48-38 lead with 13:33 to play. Walton and Jones led the way by knocking down 3-point jumpers.

Memphis committed seven fouls in the first 7:30 of the second half and gave Missouri an opportunity to stabilize at the line. Anthony Robinson hit three throws to slow the Memphis charge and make it 48-41, but East missed two and Carter missed the front end of a one-and-one to keep the deficit at seven.

Memphis resumed their second half push, sparked by Quinerly's 3-point jumper with 9:22 left, and kept Missouri at arm's length the rest of the way.

—Field Level Media

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