A few steps away from the crystal clear water of the Bahamas, Coach Penny Hardaway would take his Memphis Tigers up against the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers in game one of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship. A mini tournament, per se, that would guarantee Memphis two games against a guaranteed NCAA Tournament team, with the opener coming against a preseason National Champion contender in Purdue. 

Memphis came into the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship looking to establish an identity after spending nearly all week reeling in the embarrassment of losing on their home court to a mediocre UNLV team on Sunday, and a road loss to Ole Miss, an Ole Miss team that Memphis had on the ropes last Tuesday, but never were able to cross over that threshold. Coming into the tournament opener against Purdue, the mood around the program was one of cautious optimism: if they could find a way to beat Purdue, the Tigers’ confidence would be back. 

Memphis would open the game by winning the opening tip and racing out to an early 11-4 lead over Purdue at the first media timeout of the first game. Purdue cut into the Memphis lead at the under-12 media timeout, but the Tigers held on to an 18-15 lead. With the crowd behind, Purdue jumped out on top of the Tigers 21-18 following an 8-0 run at the under-8 media timeout of the first half. Despite the onslaught of the Purdue attack, Memphis maintained a five-point 30-25 deficit at the final media timeout of the first half with 3:48 remaining on the game clock. Memphis closed the first half on a 10-2 run and cut the Purdue lead to 36-35. 

Memphis looked like a completely different team in the first half as they went toe-to-toe with the bigs of Purdue and maintained a one-point deficit at the break. Dug McDaniel led the way in scoring for Memphis with seven points; Zach Davis, Sincere Parker, and Tariq Ingrahm each had six points. 

Memphis and Purdue would open the second half by exchanging blows with the Boilermakers, maintaining a 45-44 lead at the under-16 media timeout of the second half with 15:30 remaining. At the under-12 media timeout of the second half, Purdue had extended the lead over Memphis to 57-50. A timeout from Purdue with 10:59 after a Dug McDaniel made it 59-52 in favor of Purdue. Purdue would call a 30-second timeout with 9:09 remaining after Memphis tied it at 59 with a 7-0 run. Purdue would retake a 70-64 lead with 3:58 remaining off the backs of a 9-0 run. With 1:19 remaining, Coach Penny Hardaway called a timeout as the Tigers cut the Purdue lead to 76-69. In the end, it was the talent of the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers that came out on top, 76-69. 

Dug McDaniel led the way in scoring for the Tigers with 18 points. 

However you slice it, Memphis played well tonight and now has mometum heading into the matchup with either Texas Tech or Wake Forest in the third-place game on Friday night. Coach Hardaway saw something in his guys that worked tonight, and they have a lot to build off of for the remainder of the season. 

Photo Credits- Memphis Basketball on X