Jonnivius Smith led the Roadrunners with 18 and hit three shots from behind the 3-point arc as UTSA played Memphis to the wire, only to fall in the final seconds. The Roadrunners dropped to 11-18 on the season and to 5-12 in the American Athletic Conference. – Photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
This time a year ago, the Memphis Tigers were in the midst of a frustrating collapse.
With one of the most talented rosters in the American Athletic Conference, they started the season 15-2, only to drop eight of their last 15 games.
In the AAC tournament, they entered as the No. 5 seed and then lost to the 12th-seeded Wichita State Shockers in the second round.
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway has guided his team to a 25-5 record, including 15-2 in the AAC. — Photo by Joe Alexander.
Before the NIT even offered them a chance to continue their season, Tigers coach Penny Hardaway stated that they would not play, despite having 22 wins on their ledger.
With a revamped roster and coaching staff this season, the Tigers have made amends. Ranked 16th in the nation in both polls, they claimed at least a share of the AAC men’s basketball title Tuesday night with a 75-70 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners at the Convocation Center.
“It’s a great feeling, coming from where we were last year,” Hardaway said. “Great feeling to have the opportunity to go back home for one more game and have it all.”
If the 25-win Tigers can beat the South Florida Bulls on Friday at home, they will lock up the title outright, a first for the program in 12 years and a first for Hardaway in his seven years as the Memphis head coach.
A close battle, down to the wire, unfolded in the last minute. With Memphis leading a UTSA team playing without senior forward Raekwon Horton by only two points, players from both teams couldn’t capitalize on opportunities to score.
For the Tigers, forward Nicholas Jordain missed a couple of free throws and Dain Dainja turned it over against an aggressive Roadrunners’ defense.
For UTSA, guard Primo Spears missed a driving layup in traffic with about 50 seconds left and hit only the rim on a three-point attempt with 12 seconds remaining.
Later, Memphis guard PJ Haggerty sank six straight free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal it.
“Just a great battle,” Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch said. “First of all, congratulations to Memphis. I do think they clinched a share tonight. A regular season championship. It’s a great accomplishment.
“Coach Hardaway’s done a great job. So to them and their fan base, congrats.”
In facing Memphis, UTSA was attempting to become the first team at the school in 30 years to beat a ranked opponent. The Roadrunners did it in December of the 1994-95 season, when they upset No. 13 Arizona State on the road, 87-85 in overtime, at Tempe.
Claunch said he’s extremely proud to have taken a team that has lost only twice during the AAC schedule right down to the wife.
“That’s a good feeling when you battle a team that is as (highly) regarded as Memphis is, and we’re right there,” he said. “You know, just a couple of shots at the end. One of those goes in and we’re sitting here feeling so different.”
UTSA sophomore Marcus Millender supplied some drama at the end when he hit a pull-up three with a second left to make it a three-point game, giving the Roadrunners hope if they could steal the inbounds.
But Memphis inbounded successfully to Haggerty, who was fouled and made both freebies with five tenths of a second left for the last points of the game.
“It’s one of those things,” Claunch said. “It never feels good to lose, but we understand what lies ahead, and we’re extremely confident, and we’re starting to play our best ball right when we knew we wanted to.”
The Roadrunners will play Sunday at Charlotte to close out the regular season before turning their attention next week to the conference tournament.
“Not exactly how we wanted to finish out in the Convo,” the coach said. “But I know these guys are ready to get back out here and get ready for Sunday and then get to Fort Worth and make some noise.”
Records
Memphis 25-5, 15-2
UTSA 11-18, 5-12
Coming up
UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, 3 p.m.
Notable
UTSA senior forward Raekwon Horton apparently did not attend the game, with Claunch saying he was “away on personal leave.”
Asked if he knew whether Horton would be available for the regular-season finale and the tournament, Claunch said he’d have more information in a couple of days.
Playing without a key player in the lineup has been nothing new for the Roadrunners this season. It’s happened at least a half dozen times, when the team has needed to adjust the starting five and the rotation for someone unavailable to play.
Through it all, the team never seems to lose its competitive edge. And, for the most part, things run smoothly with the available players. UTSA could have used Horton against Memphis, for sure. But the Roadrunners played hard and were in it until the end without him.
Claunch, flanked by Jo Smith and Primo Spears in the post-game, said the resilience to play through the setbacks is a product of his players’ collective will.
“It’s these guys,” the coach said, nodding at Smith and Spears. “It’s these guys’ commitment to work and their maturity and their character. Listen, we have a really good team. When someone is out, these guys are capable.
“Like you said, we’ve had different guys out, and we’ve stepped up. That’s a testament to these guys’ commitment to work and belief in each other. And certainly, yeah, you want it always to be 100 percent. But that’s just not realistic.”
Individuals
Memphis — Forward Dain Dainja, a 6-9, 255-pounder, wowed the crowd with a flying dunk off a turnover in the second half and finished with a team-high 19 points. Dainja also was efficient, hitting eight of 12 from the field, and he was physical, pulling down eight rebounds. Guard PJ Haggerty scored 18, making 12 of 13 at the free-throw line. Forward Nicholas Jourdain had a solid line with 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Guard Colby Rogers scored 10.
UTSA — Forward Jonnivius Smith came off the bench to lead the Roadrunners with 18 points. With Memphis paying special attention to Primo Spears, Marcus Millender and Damari Monsanto, Smith stepped out and knocked down three of four from the 3-point line. He also had seven rebounds and two blocks. Millender scored 16, Spears 14 and Tai’Reon Joseph 12. UTSA’s three-point specialists — Monsanto, Millender and Spears – hit a combined five of 23 from beyond the arc against the Tigers.