Tigers to fight on after nearly beating Houston
Kendric Davis soared toward the rim for the game-tying layup, and both Penny Hardaway and Kelvin Sampson had the same thought as Fedexforum went nuts one more time.
There was too much time. Eight seconds, according to the play-by-play.
Eight seconds standing between Memphis going to overtime against the No. 1 team in the country. Eight seconds standing between a special day of Memphis basketball potentially becoming one of the most memorable days in recent program history. Eight seconds, as it turned out, standing between
Memphis and a heartbreaking 67-65 loss to Houston.
Eight seconds that showed what these Tigers might be capable of this postseason, and what they still have left to conquer.
In those eight seconds, Sampson didn’t call a timeout. He didn’t want Hardaway to get a chance to put his best defenders into the game and set his defense. He wanted the ball in Jamal Shead’s hands with the Tigers on their heels. And then Sampson got what he wanted – a buzzer-beating stepback jumper from Shead.
“It guts you,” is how Hardaway would describe the feeling during a somber press conference.
This was senior day, and the day in which so many members of the 1972-73 Memphis State team that started this Tiger basketball craze were in attendance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their national championship game run.
These are the regular-season games a lifelong Memphian like Hardaway so badly wants to win.
What he got instead was a microphone, and one last chance to address the best Memphis basketball crowd in years.
“Our season is not over. We appreciate you guys today, but we’re going to fight on,” Hardaway declared. “We believe in ourselves and we’re going to go to the tournament and fight again, and we’re going to keep fighting for this city.”
This may have been a sad ending, and perhaps a controversial one.
But these Tigers (23-8, 13-5 AAC) have put themselves in a position to where it’s impossible to be sad about what has been accomplished and what
could lie ahead. They didn’t need to beat Houston to be in the NCAA tournament. They won over this fan base, in a manner no Memphis team over the past decade could. That much became clear Sunday.
The building buzzed from the moment Davis and Deandre Williams came out on senior day to huge ovations. The place roared like it did during the greatest eras of Memphis basketball, with the dynamic visual of alternating sections of blue and white stripes.
“This is the most raucous,” Sampson said. “I can’t imagine what they would have been like if it were a 5 o’clock game. Would’ve gotten a little Beale Street in them.”
It was indeed one of those splendid college basketball environments, filled with the tension of March.
Houston took control in the first half – “Totally on me,” Hardaway said, blaming a bad game plan. Then Memphis came storming back behind Davis’ free throws, its trapping defense and – surprise! – Chandler Lawson’s 3-point shooting stroke. The Tigers took their first lead with 13:35 to go as big man Malcolm Dandridge dove on the floor to recover a rebound to set up a Davis 3pointer. This wasn’t for lack of effort.
The Tigers survived when Williams got into foul trouble only to watch Houston grab the lead back with a well-timed switch to zone defense. But Memphis never went away. It never has this whole season.
Davis hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 63-63, then Shead took the lead back with a high-arcing floater over Dandridge. A turnover by Houston gave Davis his chance to even the game once again, before Shead’s heroics.
Did Shead push off Memphis wing Elijah Mccadden to create space for that final shot? Probably.
Can you expect an official to make that call in the waning seconds of a tie game? Probably not.
Did it matter to Hardaway? Definitely not.
“When you have your entire team, it’s just a loss to me,” Hardaway said.
But should how close these Tigers were convince them they can win an AAC tournament next week and make a run in the NCAA tournament?
Sampson thinks so.
“As long as you got Kendric Davis and Deandre Williams, you’ve got a chance,” he said. “Whoever plays them in the (NCAA) tournament doesn’t realize how good those two guys are.”
There’s still time for everyone to find out.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto