Jahvon Quinerly’s 3-pointer with 3 seconds left helps No. 15 Memphis to a 62-59 win over SMU

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jahvon Quinerly saved No. 15 Memphis from a loss for the second straight game

And from about the same spot.

Quinerly connected on a 3-pointer with three seconds left to complete a comeback for the Tigers as they defeated SMU 62-59 on Sunday.

Quinerly hit the winning basket in the closing seconds earlier this week at Tulsa. His 3-pointer with four seconds remaining resulted in a 78-75 victory. In Sunday’s last-second heroics, Quinerly dribbled in front of Mustang guard Chuck Harris, stepped back on the left wing and dropped in the go-ahead basket to break a 58-58 tie.

Quinerly was actually the second option on the play drawn up by the Memphis coaching staff.

“I was surprised they didn’t deny me the ball,” Quinerly said when asked about the comparison to the Tulsa shot, adding: “It just happened. It just happened in the flow.”

For SMU, it was a heart-breaking end to a game where it dominated the Tigers in the first half, and didn’t give up the lead until about eight minutes were left. Mustang coach Rob Lanier acknowledged that Quinerly’s game-winner was “a tough shot.”

“We needed to play well to beat them,” Lanier said. “We had a chance, and we didn’t play our best.”

David Jones led the Tigers with 17 points, Quinerly had 11 and Jaykwon Walton added 10 as Memphis (13-2, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) won its eighth straight.

Tyreek Smith led SMU (10-5, 1-1) with 12 points and seven rebounds as the Mustangs saw their four-game winning streak end.

Memphis got off to a poor start, but they used a 17-5 run opening the second half to pull even. The Tigers eventually built a six-point lead.

Tied with two minutes remaining, both teams had blocks down the stretch, including Jayden Hardaway of Memphis blocking Smith at the rim leading to a jump ball with 12 seconds remaining. Memphis held the possession arrow, setting the stage for Quinerly’s basket after a timeout.

In the first half, SMU’s defense forced the Tigers into turnovers and while the Mustangs weren’t putting up a lot of points, they outrebounded Memphis 25-9.

Hardaway and the Memphis players know they have escaped some close situations.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of talented guys, but we wait to do the dirty work until we’re down,” Jayhlon Young said.

While Memphis worries about getting off to better starts and avoiding flat play, Lanier said the Mustangs’ performance against a nationally ranked team provides him optimism.

“To be in that position on such a good team bodes well,” Lanier said.

BIG PICTURE

SMU: The Mustangs pride themselves on defense and entered the game only allowing two opponents to score more than 70 points. They were allowing only 61.6 points a game, among the top 20 in the nation. They held the Tigers to that average and Memphis shot 47% as SMU almost pulled off the win.

MEMPHIS: The Tigers poor play and slow starts are going to eventually catch up and bite them if it continues. They have escaped on several occasions in the last month and the luck eventually is going to run out if they continue not coming ready to play from the opening tip.

UP NEXT

SMU: At East Carolina on Saturday.

Memphis: Hosts Texas-San Antonio on Wednesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball