Nov. 6, 2004

Box Score |  Quotes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Sophomore Sean Banks showed why he is a Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy candidate in Memphis' exhibition game against Christian Brothers Saturday night at FedExForum. The 6-foot-8 forward scored a game-high tying 25 points -- 17 in the second half -- to lead the No. 23-ranked Tigers to a hard-fought 81-70 victory.

With Memphis trailing 45-36, Banks took over as he scored 11 points in a 21-5 Tiger run to take a 57-50 lead with 10:16 left in the second half. Junior Rodney Carney did his damage in the run on the defensive end with two blocked shots.

Memphis built its lead from that point, taking its first double-digit advantage (63-52) of the contest on two Anthony Rice free throws at the 8:06 mark. The Tigers grabbed their biggest lead of the game at 74-54 on a Darius Washington free throw with 4:51 left on the clock. Christian Brothers, however, did not stop fighting, putting together a 16-7 run to close the game for the 81-70 final.

"We play these kinds of exhibition games because it's exactly what we needed," said fifth-year head coach John Calipari. "It was a great teaching tool. (CBU) played great. They executed. We didn't communicate to help each other.

"Our big people didn't rebound. Part of it is (CBU) took so many shots in the first half, and they didn't miss. We probably got every rebound that they missed, but they didn't miss many."

Christian Brothers didn't miss many in the first half. The Buccaneers shot 56 percent from the field and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the arc. Clint Dowdle, who finished with 25 points, had a perfect first half with 15 points on 5-of-5 from the field, 3-of-3 from the arc and 2-of-2 from the foul line. The Bucs also beat Memphis on the boards, holding a 16-9 lead on the glass at the intermission.

"We played a spirited game tonight," CBU head coach Mike Nienaber said. "Maybe we should have gone home at halftime. We are disappointed with the way we played in a five-to-six minute span in the second half. We were dropping passes that were hitting us in the hands. Memphis was pressuring us good in the second half, and we got tired handling the pressure.

"Our guys believed they could do what they did tonight. Clint Dowdle has been a great leader for us and stepped up big tonight. I have been thinking about retiring, and I just may go out with him after this year. I am going to enjoy every game he has left to play. He gives us so much floor leadership and is a joy to be around."

Rice (13 points), Washington (12) and Carney (11) also netted double figures for Memphis. Banks and Carney led the Tigers on the boards with four each. Washington dished out a game-high six assists, while Jeremy Hunt had five assists.

The Bucs had one other double figure scorer in Lou Wright with 17 points. Wright led all players on the boards with six rebounds.

The Tigers finished the contest shooting 60 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the three-point line. Christian Brothers shot 46.8 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent from the arc.

Memphis returns to action Monday, Nov. 8 when it hosts LeMoyne-Owen College in a second exhibition contest at FedExForum. Game time is 7:00 p.m. (CT).