Kendric Davis blasts former team as Memphis tramples SMU

Kendric Davis was removed from Thursday’s game with 9:55 left to play.

The Memphis basketball star played just 27 minutes – the third-fewest he’s played all season – but the Tigers were beating up on SMU, where Davis spent three seasons before finding a new home as a transfer for coach Penny Hardaway. Memphis was up by 28 points and Davis had already done enough damage: 23 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

The Mustangs promptly rattled off 10-1 run. That’s when the bat signal went out and Davis came to the rescue. Within seconds, he got to the free throw line, as he does so adeptly, made both attempts to restore order. From there, Memphis (16-5, 6-2 AAC) cruised to a 99-84 win at FedExForum, its fourth in a row. The victory also extended the Tigers’ home winning streak to 16 games (dating back to last season), tied with Kent State for the second-longest active streak in the country as of Thursday.

Davis dominated, dropping 25 points and dishing out 11 assists. The preseason All-American just missed becoming the third player in Memphis history with a triple-double, collecting seven rebounds. Hardaway and Antonio Anderson are the only Tigers with a triple-double. Hardaway accomplished the feat twice.

The win officially gives Hardaway 100 career wins. He had one vacated from the 2019-20 season due to penalties from an NCAA investigation.

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Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s win:

Kendric Davis’ first 10 minutes

Davis expertly set the tone for his current team against his former team.

The reigning AAC Player of the Year put Memphis on the board with a 3-pointer 36 seconds into the game. Davis drained another triple with 9:40 left before halftime that put the Tigers up 28-18.

During that span, Davis either scored or assisted on 26 of his team’s 28 points.

Memphis held a 50-32 lead at halftime and Davis had 16 points and nine assists through the first 20 minutes.

Talk about balance

Davis wasn’t the only Tiger feasting against SMU, which came into the game ranked eighth in the league with a scoring defense of 71.2 points per game.

Four other players logged double-digits in points, led by Keonte Kennedy’s 16, whose one-handed, breakaway dunk with under three minutes to play put the exclamation point on the win. DeAndre Williams, who was named AAC Player of the Week on Monday, notched 13, while Chandler Lawson and Jayden Hardaway put up 12 apiece.

Next up for Memphis basketball

The Tigers will travel to Tulsa on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPN2).

Memphis sits a half-game behind Temple for second place in the AAC standings, and a full game behind league-leading Houston.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Kendric Davis powers Tigers to big win vs. SMU