National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern Methodist 73, Memphis 59
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 8, 2015
Where: Moody Coliseum, Abilene, Texas
Officials: # Joe DeRosa, # Mike Roberts, # Michael Stephens
Attendance: 6807

SMU 73, Memphis 59:
Markus Kennedy tied his career high with 21 points as the host Mustangs used a strong inside game to dispatch the Tigers.

Yanick Moreira added 15 points and Ben Moore had 12 points for SMU (11-4, 2-1 American Athletic), which outrebounded the Tigers 38-22. Keith Frazier added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Austin Nichols was held to 11 points and D'Marnier Cunningham added 10 points for Memphis (8-6, 1-2). Chris Hawkins and Markel Crawford each chipped in nine points.

SMU broke open the game with a 12-4 spurt, started by a pair of inside buckets from Kennedy, to build a 26-15 lead with four minutes left in the first half. Kennedy followed a pair of Memphis 3-pointers with a layup and Frazier's jumper beat the buzzer for a 34-21 halftime advantage.

The Tigers used an 11-1 run - including Cunningham's three-point play and 3-pointer - to get back in the game and got as close as seven on Hawkins' bucket with less than 11 minutes left. SMU answered with a 9-2 run - with five points from Frazier - to push the lead back to double digits.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Kennedy went 10-of-13 from the floor after combining for 19 points on 8-of-22 shooting in his first four games back from academic ineligibility. ... The Tigers played without G-F Nick King (ankle), G-F Kuran Iverson (suspension) and F Trahson Burrell. ... SMU improved to 10-1 at home.
Top Game Performances
 
Memphis   Southern Methodist
Austin Nichols 11 Scoring Markus Kennedy 21
Markel Crawford 4 Assists Nic Moore 8
Chris Hawkins 7 Rebounds Keith Frazier 8
Calvin Godfrey 3 Free Throws Made Ben Moore 6
RaShawn Powell 4 Steals Nic Moore 3
Austin Nichols 3 Blocks Yanick Moreira 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Memphis 59 43.4 5-15 8-11 11 22 3 8 10
Southern Methodist 73 51.9 1-6 18-26 17 36 6 9 11