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No. 18 Memphis takes care of South Florida in AAC opener

Jan 1, 2014 - 6:13 AM Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Geron Johnson scored 19 points with five steals as No. 18 Memphis took an 88-73 win over South Florida to open American Athletic Conference action.

Joe Jackson scored 18 points with five rebounds and Michael Dixon gave 18 points and five assists for the Tigers (10-2, 1-0 AAC), who have won three straight.

John Egbunu had a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls (9-5, 0-1), who have lost three of their last four. Victor Rudd gave 17 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

Memphis trailed early on, but a 13-2 run put the team on top with Jackson capping the run on a pair of free throws for a 22-12 lead halfway through the first half.

Another 8-0 run later in the half pushed the lead to 16 points and Jackson's dunk near the buzzer gave the team a 48-32 lead after 20 minutes.

South Florida kept pace early in the second half, but a 3-pointer from Johnson started a 13-2 run for the Tigers and the team held a 67-41 lead after Johnson closed the spurt with a layup with 12 minutes to play.

Memphis stretched it lead to as high as 29 points down the stretch to cruise to the win.

Game Notes

Memphis hosts Cincinnati on Saturday ... South Florida hosts Houston on Saturday ... Memphis has won 19 of the 22 matchups with South Florida ... Memphis shot 52.4 percent from the field, while South Florida made 42.3 percent of its shots, but missed on all nine of its 3-point attempts.