Coogs hold on to defeat Memphis in AAC semifinals

Byron L. Riley, CPA; 832-303-3995; Do you need tax help? IRS Tax help available- Free Consult

POSTED: March 17, 2019 -- 8:59 a.m. CDT

MEMPHIS, TN (FedEx Forum) -- The Houston Cougars did not make a field goal the final 9:57 of Saturday's semifinal game against the Memphis Tigers; however, Houston managed a 61-58 win to advance to Sunday's American Athletic Conference championship game.

Corey Davis Jr sank a three-point basket to put Houston ahead 57-43 went 9:57 remaining in the game. Then, Houston's offense went haywire.

Houston committed 4 turnovers, missed 10 field goals, and missed 6 free throws in the final 9:57 of the game which helped Memphis walk back into the game despite the Tigers' poor shooting.

Trailing 61-56, Memphis missed 4 shots in a 20 second span during the final 92 seconds of the game; but, the Tigers kept getting the missed shot. The Tigers did not score on the possession; however, it resulted in two missed free throws by Houston's Fabian White Jr which summarized the final 10 minutes of the game.

After White's missed free throws, Memphis senior guard Jeremiah Martin scored a driving lay-up to trim Houston's lead to 61-58 with 61 seconds remaining.

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Byron L. Riley, CPA; 832-303-3995; Do you need tax help? IRS Tax help available- Free Consult

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Memphis called timeout to set up its defense. Houston's Corey Davis drove to the basket near the sideline; lofted a shot and scored; however, Davis was called for an offensive foul. Memphis called another timeout.

After the timeout, Martin missed a jumper; but, Memphis got the offensive rebound. Martin missed a game-tying three-point shot attempt which Houston's Armoni Brooks rebounded. Brooks went to the line for two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining.

Miss.

Miss.

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Byron L. Riley, CPA; 832-303-3995; Do you need tax help? IRS Tax help available- Free Consult

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Memphis rebounded the second miss and called timeout. After the timeout, Tigers' guard Tyler Harris missed a three-point shot attempt but rebounded his own miss. Harris launched another shot; but, Fabian White tipped the shot and pulled down the ball as the game clock expired.

Neither team shot well in the game: Memphis shot 23.5% (16 for 68) from the floor while Houston shot 36.8% (21 for 57) from the floor which included the 10 consecutive misses in the final 10 minutes.

Houston also shot an anemic 51.9% (14 for 27) from the free throw line.

Corey Davis scored a team-high 17 points against Memphis and became the 48th player in Houston history to reach 1,000 points during his Cougar career.

NEXT:

Top-seed Houston faces 2-seed Cincinnati in the AAC championship game, at 2:15 p.m., Sunday, March 17, on ESPN.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's write-ups of Coogs' men's hoops games.