Davis, Williams help Memphis hold on, beat Texas A&M 83-79

Updated Dec. 17, 2022 10:28 p.m. ET

Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Kendric Davis had 23 points — including a career-high 14 made free throws — and nine assists, DeAndre Williams scored all his 15 points in the second half and Memphis beat Texas A&M 83-79 Saturday night.

Davis shot just 4 of 13 from the field but missed just 2 of 16 from the free-throw line and added three steals. Johnathan Lawson made 3 of 3 from behind the arc and finished with 10 points for Memphis (9-3).

The Tigers rebounded from a 91-88 loss at No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday to win for the seventh time in eight games.

Julius Marble scored inside to cap an 8-1 spurt that gave Texas A&M a one-point lead — its first since midway through the first half — with 3:20 to play but the Aggies committed turnovers on their next two possessions and Williams scored six consecutive points to give Memphis a 74-69 lead with 2 minutes remaining.

Davis made 7-of-8 free throws thereon to seal it for the Tigers.

Wade Taylor IV hit four 3-pointers and tied his career high with 25 points for Texas A&M (6-4). Marble added 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, Manny Obaseki scored 14, and Henry Coleman III 12.

The Aggies made just 9 of 27 (33%) from the field in the first half but shot 81% from the free-throw line, where the outscored Memphis 13-7 before the break.

Taylor made a layup followed by a 3-pointer and added another 3 in a 12-3 run — during which Memphis went 4-plus minutes without a made field goal — that pulled the Aggies within three when Obaseki threw down a dunk to make it 53-50 with 13 minutes to play.

Tyrece Radford scored eight points — on just 1-of-13 shooting — but grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds. The graduate transfer from Virginia Tech is the only active Division-I player that is 6-2 or shorter with at least 1,000 career points (1,093) and 600 (608) career rebounds.

Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu was fouled as he threw down a dunk and made the and-1 free throw that made it 18-all and sparked 20-6 spurt that gave Memphis a 13-point lead with 5 minutes left in the first half. The Tigers made three 3-pointers — two by Johnathan Lawson and another by Davis — over a 72-second span in the middle of the spurt and Alex Lomax hit a jumper to make it 37-24.

Memphis holds a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series between the schools with all but one of the contests happening before 1970.

Texas A&M set single-game season highs for free throws made (27) and free-throw percentage (81.8) on 33 attempts.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M kicks off a three-game home stand Tuesday when Wofford visits College Station.

Memphis plays the second of consecutive home games Wednesday against Alabama State.

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