Down to the Wire: Memphis Secures a Hard-Fought Win Against Clemson

The first ever matchup between the Memphis and Clemson Tigers proved to be an exhilarating matchup that came down to the wire as Memphis won 79-77. Memphis standout David Jones once again had a dominant performance scoring 22 points while grabbing 6 rebounds. Point guard Jahvon Quinerly also was a big factor as he scored 17 points and dished out 6 assists.

Clemson seemed to be in control through the first few minutes of the game as bigs PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin had it going early and Clemson had a 13-6 lead 4 minutes into the game. Memphis held on in the first half as it seemed every time Clemson was about to lead by double digits Memphis would find a way to tie up the game including a 17-2 run in the first half.

Shooting wasn’t the reason Memphis won their second ranked win of the season. Memphis did not shoot the ball well shooting 4 for 26 from 3-point range. Instead Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway focused on harrassing Clemson on defesne forcing 14 turnovers with the team having 9 total steals. They also drew a good amount of fouls and hadn’t missed free throws for the majority of the game shooting 17 for 23 on the game from the line.

Jahvon Quinerly, who transferred this year from Alabama, has growing confidence in this team as he said after the game. “I just feel like we’re growing faster than these other teams that are playing lower competition. It’s forcing us to grow as a team, to not drop these big games,” Quinerly said. “It’s honestly bringing the best out of the group.”

Memphis were without Nae’Qwan Tomlin who transferred from Kansas State. The 6’10 forward is waiting to be officially enrolled and was in attendance at Fedex Forum a few rows behind the bench. Tomlin will briing more help to a team thats primed to be placed in the next AP Top 25 Men’s Baksetball Poll. They face No.21 Virginia this tuesday at home in their third straight ranked matchup.