Right off Beale Steet, Memphis welcomed FAU to the FedEx Forum for the first time since the Owls joined the American Athletic Conference in July. As highly anticipated, the matchup between the Tigers and Owls delivered the American Athletic Conference with an instant classic for the record books. Two budding rivals, taking the court as first-time conference foes, a recipe for a magical Sunday afternoon at the FedEx Forum.

Memphis and FAU exchanged blows early in the first half as both struggled to create distance between the other. FAU took a one-point, 31-30 lead to the locker room over the hometown Memphis Tigers. Vladislav Golden went to the break, leading the FAU Owls in scoring with twelve first-half points. Nae’Qwan Timlin led the way for the Memphis Tigers in the first half with 11 points.

As the second half progressed, Memphis and FAU exchanged blows. However, the Tigers kept a slight lead over the Owls, getting the Memphis in attendance into the game and giving the Tigers an added homecourt advantage as the final minutes of the second half approached for Memphis and FAU. With 6:08 remaining in the game, Memphis held a 66-62 lead over FAU, winning another four minutes crucial for the Tigers to defeat FAU on Sunday afternoon.

Both Memphis and FAU had the advantage of being in the bonus for most of the second half, making free throws the difference in winning and losing on Sunday.

With 4:33 remaining, FAU called a sixty-second timeout as the Tigers rushed to an eight-point, 71-63 lead over the Owls. Jahvon Quinerly blocked an FAU shot out of the timeout, leading to a Memphis basket from David Jones to extend the Tigers’ lead to 73-63 at the final media timeout. With a 73-67 lead, Head Coach Penny Hardaway called a timeout to calm down his Memphis Tigers. David Jones comes with a massive rebound with 18.7 seconds before knocking down two crucial free throws to give the Tigers a 77-72 lead over the Owls. A few free throws later, the Tigers got a monster win.

Memphis had four guys scoring in double figures on Sunday in the win over FAU.

Memphis will hit the road on Thursday night as they travel to take on the Pirates of East Carolina.