Dain Dainja scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and No. 16 Memphis escaped with a 78-77 win over Tulane in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas.
PJ Haggerty added 18 points and nine rebounds for Memphis (28-5), which is the top seed in the tournament. The Tigers advanced to Sunday’s conference title game, where they will face the winner of Saturday’s matchup between second-seeded North Texas and third-seeded UAB.
Rowan Brumbaugh scored 22 points to lead fourth-seeded Tulane (19-14). Kam Williams scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Asher Woods chipped in 15 points.
Memphis won the rebound battle 47-34, including a 22-9 advantage in offensive boards.
The teams traded leads in the final minute of a game that was a tight battle throughout.
Haggerty knocked down a jump shot to put the Tigers on top 70-69 with 1:03 remaining.
On the next possession, Brumbaugh drove to the rim for a layup to give Tulane a 71-70 edge with 47 seconds to go.
Haggerty answered again with a pair of free throws that nudged Memphis to a 72-71 lead with 40 seconds left.
Haggerty came through with a steal on the defensive end and drew a foul with 16 seconds to go. He made both free-throw attempts to increase Memphis’ lead to 74-71.
Three seconds later, Brumbaugh made one of two free-throw attempts to cut the lead to 74-72.
The free-throw parade continued as Haggerty made two more to give Memphis a 76-72 lead with 11 seconds to go.
Gregg Glenn III made a dunk to pull Tulane within 76-74 with three seconds left.
Haggerty drained two more free throws to make it 78-74 moments later, and Brumbaugh hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Tulane to make it a one-point final.
Memphis led 39-32 at the half.
PJ Carter drained a 3-pointer to boost the Tigers’ lead to seven points with three seconds remaining in the first half. Tulane trailed by as few as three points in the final minute after Woods made a layup to cut the deficit to 34-31 with 54 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
