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Smith, Tennessee deal Memphis its first loss

Feb 24, 2008 - 5:35 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Tyler Smith and Tennessee have ended Memphis' unbeaten run.

Smith scored 16 points and Wayne Chism added 13 as the second-ranked Volunteers knocked off the top-ranked Tigers, 66-62, in a thrilling non-conference contest on Saturday.

J.P. Prince chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Volunteers, who also ended the Tigers' 47-game home winning streak.

"I think that it was a great night for college basketball in the state of Tennessee," Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl said. "We're very pleased coming here and winning this basketball game."

Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that featured three ties and six lead changes.

"You guys all said we needed to lose one, so we lost one," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "Great game. I have to give them (Tennessee) credit. They made plays and we didn't, which is really unusual for us."

Tennessee (25-2), which will likely move up to No. 1 in the polls for the first time in school history, led for the majority of the second half before Memphis briefly surged in front.

The Tigers (26-1) used a 10-2 burst to take a 61-58 lead on a layup from Chris Douglas-Roberts with 2:28 remaining.

After Smith made it a one-point game, Memphis missed three shots on its next possession, giving the Volunteers a chance for the lead.

Smith, who made the game-winning layup on January 9 to hand Mississippi its first loss of the season, made a tough turnaround shot in the lane with 26 seconds left to play, giving the Volunteers a 62-61 lead.

The Tigers could not answer Smith's shot as Antonio Anderson then missed a runner in the lane and Prince converted both free throws to extend Tennessee's lead to three with eight seconds remaining.

"We just had a lot of fun," Pearl said. "I thought both teams carried that onto the court. Playing with great passion, not always playing well."

Memphis was never given a chance to tie the game as Tennessee fouled freshman Derrick Rose, who made the first free throw before missing the second. Chris Lofton iced the game with a pair of foul shots with two seconds remaining to seal the victory.

The Volunteers outrebounded the Tigers, 50-34, including 17 on the offensive end. Tennessee also outscored Memphis, 36-16, in the paint.

"We hold them to 37 percent from the floor and lose," Calipari said. "They out-scrapped us on the backboard. What we said early on ... our inside people really were going to have to fight like heck, and they tried but they got outfought, but our whole team did. I can go up and down the line where they come up with balls and we didn't."

Tennessee made its first four shots from the field to take an 11-9 lead less than three minutes into the game before Memphis started to gain the upper hand.

The first six made baskets for the Tigers came from the arc and, after Shawn Taggart's 3-pointer, Memphis held a 20-14 advantage with 13:33 left in the first half.

"How about the start of the game when both teams came out shooting lights out," Pearl said. "ESPN got a real treat tonight. People at Memphis did a wonderful job hosting this game."

As the defenses settled in, the Tigers took their largest lead at 31-24 on a jumper from Rose with just over five minutes left before halftime.

But the Volunteers cut the deficit to one at the break, and took a 45-39 lead with 14:43 remaining after Prince scored six straight points.

Tennessee's leading scorer Lofton scored his first basket with 13:12 remaining and Chism later followed with a 3-pointer that gave the Volunteers a 50-43 bulge with 11:48 left to play.

Lofton scored just seven points for the game on 2-of-11 from the floor.

Rose finished with 23 points and five assists and Douglas-Roberts added 14 for Memphis, which made only 8-of-17 free throws for the game.

The Tigers had started the game making 6-of-8 shots from the arc but finished just 8-of-27 on 3-point attempts, missing their last 12 outside shots.

"I'll say this, we were down about six or seven, we saw what were made of," Calipari said. "But we got back up three and there was a minute and something left. It was just one or two plays. They come up with balls, we don't - you lose."