Nov. 30, 2009

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Senior Derick Nelson scored 14 points and senior Johnathon Jones tallied 10 of his 12 points in the second half, but Memphis (4-1) turned Oakland University (3-4) over a season-high 24 times and defeated the Golden Grizzlies, 77-46, on Monday night in the final game of the Hall of Fame Showcase inside the FedExForum.

"This is not good, there is nothing good to say tonight," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "They defended the heck out of us and took the ball away from us like it was candy. That is a learning experience for our team, but there is not a lot of good that I can see that came out of that game.

OU finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, falling at No. 1 Kansas and losing to Memphis tonight. Oakland shot under 40 percent (16-48) for the third time this season and the Tigers scored 29 points off OU turnovers.

Junior Keith Benson was held scoreless in the first half and finished the game with nine points and nine rebounds. Benson was held under double figures for the first time this season.

Memphis' Elliott Williams led the way with a game-high 20 points. Will Coleman and Roburt Sallie each had 12 points to round out double figure scoring for the Tigers.

The Golden Grizzlies took their first lead of the opening half on a basket by Jones at the 11:01 minute mark as OU led 10-8. The Tigers responded with a 14-0 run to regain the lead 22-10 with less than six minutes left until halftime. Nelson ended the run with an offensive rebound and put back and then a big 3-pointer to slice the lead back to nine, 24-15 (4:08).

Oakland continued to hurt themselves with turnovers over the final four minutes, committing 12 in the first 20 minutes, and trailed by 14, 31-17. Nelson had five of OU's seven field goals in the first half, while the Tigers held the reigning Summit League Player of the Week Keith Benson to no points.

OU came out tough in the beginning minutes of the second half with an 11-6 run to climb back within nine points, 37-28, with 16:46 remaining in the game. Memphis stretched the lead to 19 points by outscoring the Golden Grizzlies 13-3 over the next four minutes as Oakland trailed 50-31 (12:26).

That run proved to be enough as the Tigers kept picking up all the loose balls and outscored the Golden Grizzlies 48-20 in the paint. OU will begin Summit League play this Saturday at IPFW. The Golden Grizzlies and Mastodons will tangle at 7 p.m.