Martin leads way in a road win
GREENVILLE, N.C. — At the whistle for a timeout, Memphis senior Jeremiah Martin chased down teammate Tyler Harris, swinging his arm around the freshman guard and slowly walking back to the huddle as a pair.
Martin had just drained a critical 3point shot that gave the Tigers a twopossession lead in the final six minutes of their 79-69 win at ECU Wednesday, pointing three fingers to the side of his head as Harris celebrated alongside him.
"I got onto (Harris) in the timeout (before)," Martin said. "So, I told him that he's my little brother, we're going to be in some tough battles, and sometimes it's not always going come out the way you want it to. I love him . ... I just want him to be a good player because I know one day he'll have to do the same thing."
As the senior recalled the moment, he pointed his thumb the right where another freshman guard, Alex Lomax, was seated.
"I do the same to A-LO as well," Martin added.
Martin, who came up short in his heroic 41-point performance in the Tigers' last road loss at USF, was the security that Memphis needed Wednesday night. And this time, his 31-point output was just enough.
When coach Penny Hardaway's team needed its senior leader the most, he knocked down two crucial 3-point shots that kept his team in front.
Then, with time expiring on the Pirates' upset bid, Martin put the final cap on his stellar performance with a soaring block in the corner that would seal the Memphis win.
"It gets to the point where you just worry less about it because you know at some point Jeremiah is going to come through," Lomax said. "... I'm just admiring it and enjoying the process. These are the moments I'll never forget, and hopefully, by my senior year I can do half as well as what he's doing now."
'We're not losing today'
Memphis led for nearly 14 minutes in the first half, but ECU rallied back with an 8-2 run that knotted the contest at 37 before Martin nailed a go-ahead three heading into the break.
If nothing else, it was progress. The horrid start away from Fedexforum – what would have been the fourth in a row – was avoided. But it wasn't the commanding lead Martin was hoping for, because the senior wanted revenge for the Tigers' loss at ECU last season.
"I went and told the team all today that we can't lose," Martin said. "We're not losing today. That was our message, and we didn't."
Memphis shot 58 percent from the floor in the first half against the ECU and 38 percent from beyond the arc. The Tigers' 40 points in a half were the most they've scored in the first 20 minutes on the road since their escape at Tulane a month ago.
Martin continues to shine
Martin's 31 points Wednesday gives him 110 in his last four games, the most of any player in the AAC over that stretch.
The performance also backed up Hardaway's claim that his senior guard is the best player in the conference, which the coach said on the AAC teleconference and his radio show Monday.
"I wasn't really trying to disrespect anyone else, but Jeremiah averaged 19 (points) a game last year," Hardaway said. "We could have allowed him to be a 25-point scorer this year if he wanted to be. I think he's just been so unselfish like now."
His teammates know that of course, especially guards like Lomax, who is tasked with stopping the star every day in practice.
"He's dominating everybody at practice," Lomax said. "... You just have to be amazed by it. You can't get up upset because you know he's a veteran and you just have to accept it . ... I'm just trying to steal everything while I can because I only have one year with him."
Lomax fills in for Jones
The Tigers were without freshman guard Antwann Jones Wednesday, forcing Lomax and Harris to play a few extra minutes than usual.
Jones, who is suffering from plantar fasciitis, is day-to-day, according to Hardaway. Lomax finished with seven points and six assists in 23 minutes, while Harris dropped in eight points in 27 minutes.
On his first shot of the game, Lomax splashed his second 3-point make of the season and followed it up by converting on two more jumpers in the first half.
"It's been a rough shooting year for me," Lomax said, "but my teammates have done a great job of keeping my head on and keeping confidence in me. It's a mental game for me, and after seeing (the 3-pointer) go down, it was all about the preparation before."