Memphis buries Middle Tennessee State

Jeremy Hunt added 16 points and Chris Douglas-Roberts chipped in 13 for the Tigers (9-3), who bounced back from a loss at Arizona on Wednesday to win for the third time in four games. Willie Kemp and Robert Dozier each contributed 11 points in the victory.

Desmond Yates scored 12 points and was the lone player in double figures for Middle Tennessee (4-7), which has lost three straight.

Leading scorer Kevin Kanaskie missed all eight of his shots from the field, including an 0-for-5 effort from three-point range, and finished with two points for the Blue Raiders. He entered the game averaging 12.7 points.

Middle Tennessee shot a dismal 33 percent from the field, including 1-for-9 from beyond the arc, while Memphis shot a sizzling 55 percent overall and made 12-of-27 three-point tries.

The Tigers scored the first five points on the way to a 12-2 lead and the rout was on. Kemp drained a trio of three-pointers during the early surge.

A pair of Douglas-Roberts layups midway through the half extended the Memphis lead to 29-11 and the cushion soon reached 20 on two free throws by Dozier.

The Tigers led by as many as 23 during the first half and took a 51-28 edge into the break behind 11 points from Kemp and 10 apiece by Douglas-Roberts and Hunt.

It was more of the same in the second half, as the lead reached 30 just under four minutes in and eventually topped out at 42.

Game Notes

Kemp had nine assists in the victory, while teammate Antonio Anderson added seven...Memphis outrebounded Middle Tennessee 43-24...The Tigers lead the all- time series 26-14.