CBKB: Memphis wins 20th in a row, beating Southern Miss
Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Robert Dozier had 18 points and seven rebounds, and No. 5 Memphis extended the nation's longest winning streak to 20 games with a 58-42 victory over Southern Mississippi today.
Dozier was 6-of-8 from the field and made both of his 3-point attempts as Memphis (26-3, 14-0 Conference USA) also extended its conference winning streak to 56 games, including the postseason.
Tyreke Evans had 14 points for Memphis, and Antonio Anderson finished with 10.
Jeremy Wise and R.L. Horton led Southern Mississippi (14-14, 4-10) with 14 points each, as the Golden Eagles dropped their third straight and eighth of nine.
Courtney Beasley, the Golden Eagles' second-leading scorer at 14.8 points per game, had two points, missing his first 10 shots. Southern Miss shot 29 percent.
Beasley's only basket came on a goaltending call late in the second half.
Memphis was aggressive on defense early causing the Golden Eagles to take difficult shots. Then things got worse as the Tigers went to their zone defense with 6-foot-8 freshman Wesley Witherspoon at the top.
The Golden Eagles missed their next six shots, including a pair of attempts as the shot clock neared expiring, and committed a trio of turnovers. Southern Mississippi went almost 10 minutes without scoring.
That helped Memphis build a 23-7 lead.
The Tigers would hold Southern Mississippi to 19 percent shooting in the first half (5-of-26) and outrebound the Golden Eagles 25-14, as Memphis carried a 32-14 lead into the break.
No one was in double figures for either team. Evans had nine points, and Shawn Taggart made all four of his shots for eight points for Memphis.
As for the Golden Eagles, only two players scored — Horton with eight and Wise with six. The other six Southern Mississippi players who played in the first half were a combined 0-for-16.
Things got a little sloppy for Memphis to open the second half. The Tigers missed all but one of their first four shots after intermission and committed five turnovers in the first four minutes.
The Tigers quickly recovered and stretched the lead to 20. Southern Mississippi never got the deficit under double digits the rest of the way.
