Memphis Tigers pin Tennessee Volunteers 99-97 in a thriller - NCAA Basketball Recap
In a classic played at the Lahaina Civic Centre between Memphis Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers, not one but two overtimes were needed to decide the ultimate winners.
In the end, Antonio Barton’s jumper in the dying seconds of second overtime was the gulf that stood between the two brilliant teams.
The Tigers would have been devastated, had they lost because they dominated the game throughout.
Barton brothers dominated the offense for the Tigers.
Will Barton marshalled the winning team with an outstanding double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds whereas Antonio, who scored the most crucial shot in the game, finished with 21 points on 4 for 5 from the downtown. Adonis
Thomas was also impressive and chipped in with 19 on a 7 for 10 shooting from the paint and accurate 4 for 4 from the free throw line.
Memphis coach, Josh Pastner was thrilled with the win and was all praise for his players. He added
"I am extremely proud of our guys to be able to come back. It's not easy to do that. We lost a tough game yesterday morning; our psyche was a little down."
Despite the loss, Jeronne Maymon was the player of the night. He completed a mammoth double-double, scoring 32 points on an accurate 16 for 17 from the free throws and 20 rebounds, but unfortunately could not lead his team to victory.
Trae Golden was also monumental and scored 14 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists whereas Kenny Hall scored 11 for the losing side.
Maymon scored first points of the game through a free throw however Will Barton answered almost immediately with a three point play to make it 3-1 in the favour of Tigers. Both teams fought hard for the next few minutes and there
was nothing to differentiate between both by the end of 9 minutes.
However a 9-0 spurt initiated by Tigers escorted them to a dominant position 33-24. The lead kept on swelling with time and by the end of the half, Tigers were ahead by 10 points, 55-45.
Jeronne took control of the situation in the second half and scored quickly to cut the deficit to 59-54 in first five minutes of the second half. However Antonio Barton never stopped scoring from the other side and helped the team
in maintaining a 9 point lead with less than 5 minutes remaining.
That is when Volunteers made a comeback by reeling off a 9-0 run to make it as close as 77-76. Jeronne however struck twice in the last minute to make it 83 all seconds before buzzer to take the game in extra time.
The first overtime failed to decide a winner as both teams scored 8 points each to make it 91 all and the game entered second overtime, but neither would allow the opponent to grab the win as scores were again levelled at 97 all
with nearly a minute remaining.
That is when Antonio made a jumper and put the game to bed.
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