Jalen Duren finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds, and DeAndre Williams added 13 points with eight boards as No. 11 Memphis recovered from a slow start to earn a 74-62 victory over visiting Western Kentucky.
Earl Timberlake added 10 points as the Tigers (4-0) won despite committing 14 turnovers in the first half and 26 in the game.
Camron Justice scored 18 points for the Hilltoppers (1-3), who entered Friday's game after defeats against Minnesota and South Carolina at the Asheville (N.C.) Championship.
Jairus Hamilton had 14 points for Western Kentucky, while Dayvion McKnight had 11 points with eight rebounds. McKnight entered scoring team-leading 21.3 points per game.
Memphis trailed by as many as 10 points at 29-19 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The game was tied 38-all at the break.
With renewed energy, Memphis went on a 12-0 run early in the second half to take a 53-43 lead with 14:09 remaining, with Timberlake scoring four points. But Western Kentucky responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 53-51 with 12:51 remaining.
The run of streaks continued, when the Tigers went on a 9-0 burst to take a 62-51 lead with 9:34 remaining. Timberlake again had four points in that run.
Duren scored six points in a 2:10 stretch late in the second half as Memphis put the game away by taking a 70-60 lead with just over two minutes remaining.
Memphis used its distinct height advantage to outrebound Western Kentucky 44-30, while holding a 20-7 advantage on second-chance points. The Tigers also had a 48-24 advantage on points in the paint.
The Hilltoppers had their own issues with turnovers, committing 25, while shooting just 39.3 percent from the field in the game and 26.5 in the second half.
--Field Level Media
Western Kentucky | Memphis | |
Camron Justice 18 | Scoring | Jalen Duren 22 |
Luke Frampton 4 | Assists | Alex Lomax 4 |
Dayvion McKnight 8 | Rebounds | Jalen Duren 19 |
Dayvion McKnight 3 | Free Throws Made | Jalen Duren 6 |
Josh Anderson 6 | Steals | Alex Lomax 4 |
Jamarion Sharp 5 | Blocks | Jalen Duren 5 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Western Kentucky | 62 | 39.3 | 9-26 | 5-13 | 13 | 27 | 7 | 19 | 25 |
Memphis | 74 | 46.7 | 2-16 | 16-22 | 15 | 41 | 6 | 15 | 26 |