No. 17 Memphis beats Tulsa 83-71 to hold onto AAC lead

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - PJ Haggerty scored 23 points and No. 17 Memphis held onto the American Athletic Conference lead, with the Tigers shooting 57% in an 83-71 victory over Tulsa on Wednesday night.

Dain Dainja added 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks, and Tyrese Hunter had 11 points for Memphis (19-4, 9-1 ). The Tigers won their sixth straight and held onto first place in the conference. Haggerty was 10 of 16 from the floor and Dainja was 10 of 14.

Tyshawn Archie scored 17 points for Tulsa (9-14, 3-7). It has lost three straight and five of t six. Jared Garcia, Isaiah Barnes and Dwon Odom scored 11 points each.

Tulsa stayed close through the first half despite turnover problems.

Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane are getting back to full strength after injuries and illness hindered the early part of the season. But the turnovers hurt Tulsa.

Memphis: Sits atop the conference standings and has won 10 straight home games in the American conference.

Tulsa pulled to 46-43 on Garcia’s layup near the 15-minute mark of the second half, when Memphis turned up its pressure defense. That led to Golden Hurricane turnovers and a nine straight points on a trio of 3-pointers, two of them from Hunter.

During the run that took the Memphis lead to double digits, the Tigers hit six of their first seven 3-pointers in the second half

Tulsa hosts Florida Atlantic on Saturday. Memphis entertains Temple on Sunday.