Tulane 68 - 81 Memphis
Final
  for this game

Memphis handles Tulane in C-USA quarters

Mar 15, 2013 - 3:41 AM Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - Chris Crawford canned six shots from 3-point range en route to a game-best 24 points as the No. 20 Memphis Tigers cruised to an 81-68 victory over Tulane in quarterfinal play of the Conference USA Tournament.

Seeking its record-setting seventh Conference USA Tournament title before leaving for what is now the Big East, Memphis (28-4) took one step closer to reaching its goal and will play Tulsa in Friday's semifinal.

Joe Jackson scored 15 points and Adonis Thomas chipped in 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for a Tigers team which shot 55.4 percent for the game.

Tulane (19-14), losers of four straight coming into the tourney, dug itself a sizeable hole by the end of the first half and couldn't get out.

Josh Davis tallied a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds in the setback, while Jordan Callahan and Kendall Timmons contributed 18 and 10 points, respectively, for Tulane.

The Green Wave were within striking distance over the initial 14 minutes of the contest, with Louis Dabney's free throws cutting their deficit to 30-27, but Crawford proved to be too much for them to handle.

After hitting a trio of 3-pointers through the first 10 minutes, he added two more late in the half near the end of a 14-0 Memphis surge which gave it a 44-27 cushion by the break.

Tulane went on a run to start the second half to briefly make things interesting, but the Tigers answered fairly quickly.

It came out of the locker room on 11-4 push to come within 48-38, but Memphis responded with 10 of the next 12 points, as Crawford and Geron Johnson each canned triples to help put the Tigers on top 58-40 with 11:30 remaining.

The Green Wave trailed by at least nine points the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Johnson had seven points and eight assists for Memphis ... The Tigers' bench outscored Tulane's reserves 28-10 ... The Green Wave were just 5-for-19 from beyond the arc ... Tulane committed 15 turnovers.






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