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Memphis trounces Siena, remains unbeaten

Jan 4, 2008 - 6:10 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half and freshman Jeff Robinson had season highs with 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as second-ranked Memphis raced past Siena, 102-58, on Thursday.

The preseason Conference USA Player of the Year, Douglas-Roberts made his first six shots from the floor - including five from the arc - as Memphis matched the longest home winning streak in school history with its 39th consecutive win at FedEx Forum.

The Tigers (12-0), who remained one of the six unbeaten teams in Division I, are tied with Brigham Young for the longest home winning streak in the nation.

"We needed a game like this," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "This thing has been a grind for us. For us right now, we just have to smother defensively, come ready to play, play a lot of people and do the individual work."

Memphis used three different runs during the first half to put the game out of reach by halftime.

After Siena had an early three-point lead, Memphis scored 10 straight points to take a 15-8 advantage with 13:14 left in the first half.

The Tigers then used a 9-0 spurt to take a 27-12 bulge with under nine minutes to go in the half. Finally, Douglas-Roberts made a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-0 burst that gave Memphis a 43-21 advantage with 1:23 remaining in the half. The Tigers held a 25-point lead at the break.

"Memphis' explosiveness is unlike anything you will see all year," Siena coach Fran McCaffery said. "I think the thing from our perspective that's disappointing was, and it's often times the case, our answer was to quick shoot the ball. If you quick shoot the ball against this team, it's only going to get worse."

Memphis used an 11-0 run early in the second half to take a 61-34 lead. The Tigers led by as many as 46 points with 2:58 remaining.

It was also the largest margin of victory for the Tigers, who have won all seven of their home games this season by double digits.

Robinson, who had amassed a total of eight points in seven career games for Memphis, scored 18 of his game-high 20 in the second half with most of them coming after the Tigers were already comfortably in front. The freshman shot 9-of-12 from the field to go along with his 10 rebounds in just 12 minutes of action.

"I'm happy for Jeff," Calipari said. "I didn't even know he had a double-double. He is capable of that. He played both ends, and he stayed up with the game. He was terrific."

Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey each had double-doubles, combining for 25 points and 24 rebounds for Memphis, which shot 15-of-30 from the arc (50 percent) for the game.

"This is not a 3-point shooting team and they made 15," McCaffery said. "This is a team that's typically a driving team. They were just drilling 3 after 3."

Kenny Hasbrouck had 18 points to lead the Saints (7-5), who shot just 32 percent (23-of-72) from the field for the game.