Memphis basketball pours it on in blowout win over North Alabama. Here are 5 takeaways
Memphis basketball needed this.
The Tigers, on Wednesday, logged a wire-to-wire 87-68 win over North Alabama in its first buy game of the season at FedExForum.
The victory, the third straight for Memphis (5-2), keeps momentum on its side as it prepares for a tough stretch that begins with a home game versus 6-1 Ole Miss Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).
Four Tigers scored in double-figures, led by Kendric Davis (who scored 18). Redshirt freshman Johnathan Lawson registered the first double-digit scoring performance of his young career, notching 10 points, aided by 3-of-4 shooting beyond the arc.
Here are five observations from Wednesday’s win.
Keonte Kennedy, the focal point
Even if the UTEP transfer only scored six points in last week’s win over Stanford, his one-handed poster dunk opened some eyes.
MEMPHIS BASKETBALL VS. NORTH ALABAMA:Memphis basketball vs. North Alabama: Scouting report, score prediction
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“He’s showing more every game,” said Memphis coach Penny Hardaway. “I know he’s trying to find his footing, because he was a scorer last year at UTEP.”
The trend continued for Kennedy on Wednesday, when he had his best game in a Memphis uniform. The clear focal point of the Tigers’ offense in the first half – with nine points on nine field goal attempts – Kennedy finished with 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
Alex Lomax, the stat stuffer
The Tigers’ fifth-year guard weathered one of the most difficult stretches of his collegiate career (2-for-18 from the field with seven turnovers) to hang back-to-back double-digit scoring games last week for just the second time.
Against North Alabama, Lomax kept the momentum – and the efficiency – going. While he scored just four points, Lomax was all over the place, running up eight assists (three away from tying his career-high), six rebounds and a tying a career-best with five steals.
Lomax moved into 10th place in program history in career assists, passing Jeremiah Martin. He now has 441 career assists.
Kendric Davis, the scorer
Hardaway brought Davis to Memphis to be the kind of scorer he hadn’t had his first four seasons as coach.
Last season’s AAC Player of the Year has lived up to the expectations. Through the first six games of the season, Davis averaged 19.5 points per game – tied for the 39th-best average in the country. He provided more of the same kind of production Wednesday. Davis bounced back from a rough shooting game against Stanford (when he was 5-of-18 from the field) to drop 18 points.
The bulk of the damage Davis inflicted came at the free throw line where he was 8 for 8. His career-high in made field goals is 13, which he did twice during his SMU career.
DeAndre Williams, Mr. Reliable
Memphis’ second-leading scorer was just that yet again in the win over the Lions.
Williams scored 15 points, to go along with three rebounds, upping his season scoring average to 13.3 per game. He was 7-of-9 from the floor, marking back-to-back games the preseason all-AAC honoree has shot better than 67%. Williams has not shot under 50% from the field in any game this season and is shooting 60.6% from the field this season.
Elijah McCadden, the emerging scorer
Out of all the transfers Memphis brought in this offseason, no one has struggled to the extent of Elijah McCadden.
The reigning Sun Belt Sixth Man of the Year came into the game averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds a game and he was coming off his first scoreless game as a Tiger.
McCadden came alive against North Alabama, scoring eight points in 17 minutes. He was 4-of-6 from the floor with a pair of rebounds and two assists.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: 5 observations from Tigers' win vs North Alabama
