Quinones, Achiuwa send No. 13 Memphis past Alcorn St 102-56

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Despite playing their first game without heralded recruit James Wiseman, the No. 13 Memphis Tigers had little trouble with Alcorn State.

That's what happens when you have the top recruiting class in the nation.

Freshman Lester Quinones had 21 points and 10 rebounds and fellow freshman Precious Achiuwa added 20 points Saturday, sending No. 13 Memphis to a 102-56 romp over Alcorn State.

Wiseman was sidelined because of eligibility issues, but Memphis hardly missed him in bouncing back from its first defeat of the season, an 82-74 loss to Oregon on Tuesday night.

"His presence is huge. Seven-footer in the paint. His dominance obviously wasn't felt," Quinones said of not having the 7-foot-1 Wiseman. "I feel like other guys stepped up."

"We understand James is not playing right now," Achiuwa added, "which hurts the team in a way because he's a big part of the team. But this is an opportunity for other guys to play."

DJ Jeffries finished with 15 points and Tyler Harris and Lance Thomas added 11 each for Memphis (3-1). Isaiah Attles led Alcorn State (1-3) with 13 points while Troymain Crosby had 10.

Wiseman was declared ineligible because Memphis coach Penny Hardaway helped with the family's moving expenses from Nashville to Memphis two years ago when Hardaway was coach at East High School. Wiseman's status is in limbo while the NCAA considers disciplinary action.

"We don't want to change too much because we know he's going to be back earlier than later," Hardaway said after moving Achiuwa into the center spot vacated by Wiseman. "The guys can just slide over. They already understand the rotations. They understand the offensive side and the defensive side of what we want. We're not going to change too much."

Alcorn State's zone initially took Memphis out of any flow, the Tigers choosing long passes across the top of the defense and struggling to get the ball inside. That kept the Braves in the game near the midway point of the first half.

The Memphis defense eventually put pressure on the Braves, leading to 16 Alcorn State turnovers in the half. Memphis put together a 24-3 run to close the half and carry a 52-24 lead into the break. The lead would swell to 53 in the second half.

"We didn't follow the game plan," Braves coach Montez Robinson said. "I thought if we followed the game plan -- which we did in the first four-to-five minutes of the game -- and stuck to that, it may have been a different outcome. Not knowing what the outcome would be, but it would have been different.

"It wouldn't have been a 40-to-50-point game."

BIG PICTURE

Alcorn State: The Braves did well in staying with Memphis for a while even with the Tigers employing a fullcourt press. But the Memphis defense proved intimidating, and the Braves began overpassing inside. That led to way too many turnovers -- 26 for the game.

Memphis: Without Wiseman, Memphis relied on Achiuwa inside. While his 20 points and eight rebounds were impressive, his 8 of 20 from the free throw line was a detraction. Still, overall, that wasn't a factor as Memphis controlled the final 30 minutes of the game.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Certainly, a rout over the Braves, who haven't beaten a non-conference Division I team since the 2012-13 season, is not going to enhance the Tigers' ranking. The potential impact will come from last Tuesday's loss to Oregon in Portland.

FOUL SHOOTING WOES

Achiuwa's foul shooting stood out enough that even the freshman forward noticed it on the stat sheet before the postgame press conference. "I'm probably one of the few dudes that can get to the free throw line at will," he said. "My physicality and the way I play. .I've just got to knock them down in the game. That just tells me I have to work on that. There's room for improvement."

LAST WORD

"The sky's the limit for those guys. They're young so they're going to continue to get better, continue to grow. -- Alcorn State coach Montez Robinson on No. 13 Memphis.

UP NEXT

Alcorn State: At North Carolina State on Tuesday.

Memphis: Hosts Arkansas-Little Rock on Wednesday.

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