Memphis king of the hill all by themselves, beat Houston 89-77
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Well, for the time being, the Memphis Tigers can breathe a little easier. The field, the top-ranked Tigers denied Tom Penders of win number 600 in his career and Memphis remained unbeaten in Conference USA play and overall with a 89-77 win over Houston at Hoffheinz Arena on the University of Houston campus.
The Tigers led 46-35 at the break and started the second half with a 10-4 spurt. Dowell hit three free throws and a 3-pointer over the next two minutes as Houston pulled within 13.
Memphis pushed the lead to 17, but the Cougars' scrambling, full-court pressure forced five turnovers in four minutes during a 12-3 burst that closed the gap to 66-58. Memphis' lead hovered between eight and 10 until Douglas-Roberts finished a fast break with a dunk for a 74-62 lead. Dozier added two baskets down low as the Tigers finally pulled away.
Dorsey swiped a rebound with one hand and threw down a dunk in the closing minutes, sealing the Tigers' 29th consecutive victory in Conference USA. Memphis matched its best start since 1985-86 and won its 15th consecutive road game.
Memphis, the league's best defensive team, held high-scoring Houston to 35 percent shooting from the field (24-of-68). The Cougars average 10 3-pointers per game, but went 6-for-24 from long range against the bigger, faster Tigers.
The Tigers struggled early with Houston's trapping defense and trailed 11-4 after giving away four turnovers in the first four minutes.
Memphis quickened the pace and charged ahead with an 13-0 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Willie Kemp. The Cougars were suddenly sloppy and went three minutes without scoring. Kelvin Lewis sank two free throws to cut Houston's deficit to 24-20, but the Tigers stayed in control.
Douglas-Roberts scored eight quick points and Kemp drove through the Cougars' defense for a layup to stretch the lead to 36-25. McKiver's long jumper with 7:46 left before halftime was Houston's only field goal for six minutes.
After a hot start, the Cougars ended up 12-of-37 (32 percent) from the field in the first half with only three 3-pointers.
The Cougars were facing the No. 1 team for the first time since a 77-65 loss to Cincinnati on February 17, 2000. Memphis improves to 20-0 overall and 6-0 in league play. Dion Dowell scored 23 points and Robert "Fluff" McKiver scored 20 for the Cougars (15-4, 4-1), who dropped to 2-10 all-time against Memphis in the series that began December 8, 1956. The two teams will meet again in Memphis February 13th.
Both teams see action Saturday. Houston travels to Orlando to take on Central Florida, while Memphis hosts Texas-El Paso at the FedEx Center.
