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Memphis rolls over UAB without Douglas-Roberts

Jan 17, 2007 - 6:19 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Memphis did not have Chris Douglas-Roberts for long but it still had too much for Alabama-Birmingham.

Robert Dozier scored 15 points and Jeremy Hunt had a strong game off the bench as the 18th-ranked Tigers posted a 79-54 victory over UAB in a Conference USA matchup.

The Tigers' leading scorer, Douglas-Roberts played only two minutes before leaving the game with a sore ankle. He suffered a sprained ankle against Houston on Thursday and is still not fully recovered.

Dozier and Hunt went out and picked up the slack for their injured teammate, leading Memphis (14-3, 4-0) to its sixth straight win overall and 23rd consecutive victory at FedEx Forum.

"What we are is a good defensive team and when we block shots and defend, we have a chance," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "On offense we are still making that extra pass and that's why we are shooting at a high percentage."

Dozier scored 15 points and had eight rebounds. Hunt hit three 3-pointers and added 14 points for the Tigers, who led, 42-26, at the break and went ahead by as many as 27 midway through the second half.

Willie Kemp made four 3-pointers and had 12 points and Joey Dorsey grabbed 12 rebounds for Memphis.

UAB (10-8) had won two straight games but shot just 6-of-21 from the arc and was outrebounded, 42-22.

Things started well for UAB as it built a 17-14 lead early in the first half but then Memphis roared back. The Tigers went on a 15-0 run to take control of the game.

The Blazers went scoreless for six minutes as the Tigers went on their spurt that Kemp capped with a 3-pointer to make it 29-17.

"It was ugly the first five minutes of the game. After that, it wasn't ugly," Calipari said. "I thought we played really well."

Wen Mukubu scored 18 points and Paul Delaney III, who entered the game with a team-leading average of 17.6 points, had 12 for the Blazers.

"We started out playing good basketball for the first five minutes and then played passive offensively and defensively," UAB coach Mike Davis said. "We did not execute a play at all. I don't understand how we work on stuff at full speed and just came out with a deer-in-the-headlights kind of look."