No. 18 Memphis fends off stubborn effort by Rice

Dain Dainja had game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds as No. 18 Memphis pulled away in the last two minutes for an 84-72 American Athletic Conference win over visiting Rice on Wednesday night.

PJ Haggerty added 21 points and five assists for the Tigers (23-5, 13-2 AAC), while Nicholas Jourdain contributed 19 points and nine rebounds. Memphis shot 49.2 percent from the field in securing a season sweep of the Owls.

Caden Powell scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures for Rice (13-16, 4-12). Denver Anglin added 14 points, Andrew Akuchie had 12 and Kellen Amos came off the bench for 11.

Despite making only 41.4 percent from the field, the Owls had a legitimate chance to pull the upset after Powell's dunk tied the score at 70 with 3:51 left. They even got a stop and had possession with an opportunity to take the lead.

But a steal by Colby Rogers led to Tyrese Hunter's short jumper at the 2:39 mark. The bucket ignited a game-ending 14-2 run.

One pregame storyline was whether Memphis could push its conference lead to 1 1/2 games over idle North Texas and UAB. Meanwhile, Rice was trying to build on a 71-50 win over Tulsa on Saturday that snapped a four-game losing streak.

It was all Tigers in the first five minutes as they established Dainja for seven quick points and a 13-3 lead. The margin was 12 when Rogers made two free throws at the 11:28 mark, and it appeared Memphis would have an easy game.

But the Owls hit them with a 12-2 run to pull within 23-21 on Powell's layup with 8:04 remaining. Memphis restored a nine-point advantage on two occasions before settling for a 39-32 cushion at the break on a free throw by Haggerty with five seconds left.

--Field Level Media