National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Memphis 78, Oral Roberts 63
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 20, 2014
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials: # Lee Cassell, # Tim Gattis, # Zelton Steed
Attendance: 13084

Memphis 78, Oral Roberts 63: Austin Nichols had 15 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocked shots as the Tigers topped the visiting Golden Eagles.

Pookie Powell added 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Memphis (6-4), which notched its third straight win. Trahson Burrell scored 12 points and Avery Woodson added 10 for the Tigers, who blocked a school record-tying 15 shots and finished with a 48-34 rebound advantage.

Korey Billbury scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Oral Roberts (4-6), which fell to 0-5 on the road. The Golden Eagles, who also received 10 points apiece from Albert Owens and Obi Emegano, shot 33.8 percent from the field, including 3-of-15 from 3-point range.

Oral Roberts, which trailed by seven at the half, pulled within 56-51 on Billbury’s layup with just over 8:30 remaining. Memphis, however, turned up the defensive pressure and dominated the boards to reel off a 13-1 run over the ensuing six minutes and put the game out of reach.

The opening half was marked by dueling runs as Memphis used a 15-3 spree to turn an early 12-9 lead into a 27-12 advantage before Oral Roberts answered with a 14-2 spurt to pull within 29-26 with a little more than three minutes remaining. The Tigers, though, scored six of the final eight points of the half to take a 35-28 edge into intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Memphis has now won eight straight against current Summit League teams, with the last loss coming against Oral Roberts in the 1975 NIT. … Nichols has 37 of the Tigers’ 75 blocks on the season and has 15 over the last three games. … The Golden Eagles are averaging 56.6 points and shooting 34.6 percent from the field in their five road losses.

Top Game Performances
 
Oral Roberts   Memphis
Korey Billbury 21 Scoring Austin Nichols 15
Korey Billbury 4 Assists RaShawn Powell 7
Korey Billbury 7 Rebounds Austin Nichols 9
Korey Billbury 6 Free Throws Made Austin Nichols 7
Aaron Young 2 Steals Avery Woodson 3
Albert Owens 4 Blocks Austin Nichols 8
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oral Roberts 63 33.8 3-15 16-21 10 28 6 7 11
Memphis 78 42.6 5-13 21-25 13 44 15 9 14