Dain Dainja and PJ Haggerty each had 22 points to lead No. 22 Memphis to an 84-65 victory over visiting Florida Atlantic on Sunday afternoon.
Dainja matched a career best with his point total and grabbed 11 rebounds. Colby Rogers added 15 points and Moussa Cisse secured 11 rebounds as the Tigers (22-5, 12-2 American Athletic Conference) increased their AAC lead over North Texas and UAB to a full game.
Memphis, which was coming off last Sunday's loss to Wichita State, has not dropped back-to-back games this season.
Tre Carroll led the Owls (15-12, 8-6) with 20 points and seven rebounds while Kaleb Glenn had 15 points and five rebounds. Leland Walker had 14 points with four assists and shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
Florida Atlantic has lost back-to-back games following a five-game winning streak. The Owls missed out on what could have been a major boost of a win for their slim NCAA Tournament hopes.
The Tigers shot just 3-for-13 from 3-point range in the first half but closed the period strong.
Down 24-18, Memphis put together a 14-0 run and held FAU scoreless for a span of 4:37, during which the Owls shot 0-for-7 from the field. Walker broke the run with a 3-pointer and FAU was within 37-32 at the half.
Carroll's layup brought the Owls within 41-38 early in the second half before the Tigers rattled off the next 12 points to spring ahead by 15.
Memphis put the game out of reach later with a 13-0 run to take a 76-49 lead with 6:15 to go. Haggerty scored eight points during that surge and finished the game 11-for-17 from the field while also collecting six rebounds.
The Tigers' 16 offensive rebounds proved key, as they led to 19 second-chance points. Memphis held a 44-33 rebounding advantage overall.
--Field Level Media
Florida Atlantic | Memphis | |
Tre Carroll 20 | Scoring | Dain Dainja 22 |
Leland Walker 4 | Assists | Tyrese Hunter 8 |
Tre Carroll 7 | Rebounds | Moussa Cisse 11 |
Kaleb Glenn 2 | Free Throws Made | Dain Dainja 6 |
Tre Carroll 1 | Steals | Dain Dainja 3 |
Tre Carroll 2 | Blocks | Dain Dainja 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Florida Atlantic | 65 | 42.6 | 8-20 | 5-18 | 12 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
Memphis | 84 | 47.1 | 5-19 | 13-15 | 17 | 44 | 8 | 9 | 10 |