PJ Haggerty produced 23 points, seven steals, six assists and five rebounds as No. 16 Memphis held off visiting Louisiana Tech 81-71 on Wednesday night.
Tyrese Hunter added 20 points and Colby Rogers scored 13 points for the Tigers (7-1), who bounced back from their first loss of the season, 90-76 against then No. 4 Auburn in the championship game of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 27.
Al Green scored 18 points, making 5 of 7 3-point attempts, Sean Newman Jr. had 13 points and 11 assists, Daniel Batcho scored 12, and Kaden Cooper and Amaree Abram added 10 points each to lead Louisiana Tech (7-2).
Moussa Cisse’s basket started the second-half scoring and gave Memphis a 39-38 lead, the first of five lead changes before Hunter’s layup gave the Tigers a three-point lead with 16:39 to go.
Cooper’s basket trimmed the margin to one before Haggerty had a field goal and a 3-pointer in a 7-2 run that expanded the lead to 54-47. Green made a 3-pointer, but Hunter’s 3-pointer completed a subsequent 7-0 Memphis surge that increased the lead to 61-50.
Newman scored six points and Abram added four during a 13-2 run that pulled Louisiana Tech into a 63-all tie with 7:08 to go.
Haggerty broke the tie by making two free throws that started a 9-0 run, but the Bulldogs closed within five before Hunter made a layup and Rogers added a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left.
Haggerty sank a jumper to start the scoring and three teammates added points as the Tigers opened a 7-0 lead. Batchco made a layup for the Bulldogs’ first points and Green followed with a 3-pointer that trimmed the margin to two points.
Memphis increased the lead to seven points before Cooper, Green and Jordan Crawford each made a 3-pointer to get Louisiana Tech within two points.
The Tigers scored six straight points to take a 26-18 lead, and they were up by eight again before Green scored eight points during a 15-5 run that gave the Bulldogs a 35-33 lead.
Haggerty made two free throws to tie the score, but Abram answered with a 3-pointer before Hunter’s jumper pulled Memphis within 38-37 entering halftime.
–Field Level Media
