Austin Nichols knocked down 21 points as the Memphis Tigers knocked off the East Carolina Pirates, 70-58, in American Athletic Conference action at the FedEx Forum.
Nichols shot 9-of-14 from the field for the Tigers (13-7, 6-3 AAC), who have won back-to-back games. Trahson Burrell and Nick King both tallied 11 points in the win.
Terry Whisnant notched 17 points for the Pirates (8-12, 1-6), who have dropped three straight. Caleb White added 10 points in the loss, while Antonio Robinson helped out with seven assists.
The Tigers started strong, knocking down 57.7 percent of their shots from the field in the first half. The Pirates, meanwhile, had some difficulty, shooting at a 37.5 percent clip, and they went into halftime down 39-24.
In the second half, both teams shot an even 50 percent from the floor. Despite being outscored 34-31 in the latter half, Memphis was able to hang on for the victory. The Tigers led by as many as 17 points early on in the half.
The hosts outscored their opponent, 34-12, inside the paint on their way to the win, and held an 11-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
[SportsNetwork.com]
