National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Memphis 71, Miami - Florida 54
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Where: BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, Florida
Officials:
Attendance: 4500

Will Barton collected career highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds to go along with four steals and a pair of blocks as No. 20 Memphis pulled away late to defeat host Miami, 71-54, on Tuesday.

Chris Crawford chipped in nine points and five assists for the Tigers (5-2), who have won three straight since a tough trip to the Maui Invitational.

The Hurricanes (5-3) could not keep Barton out of the lane with their zone defense, allowing the sophomore to get behind the defense for alley-opps and layups.

Miami was within 46-44 with 8:23 left, when Barton got free for a dunk and a layup on consecutive possessions. Crawford converted a three-point play and Memphis used a 22-7 burst to put the game away. Stan Simpson added six points and Joe Jackson hit five free throws during the spurt.

The Tigers shot 16 of 23 (70 percent) in the second half.

The undersized Hurricanes were dominated on the boards, 38-29, and were led by Kenny Kadji with 12 points off the bench.

Memphis has visits to No. 4 Louisville and No. 21 Georgetown looming before Conference-USA play begins.
Top Game Performances
 
Memphis   Miami - Florida
Will Barton 27 Scoring Kenny Kadji 12
Chris Crawford 5 Assists Durand Scott 5
Will Barton 14 Rebounds Kenny Kadji 6
Joe Jackson 5 Free Throws Made Rion Brown 3
Will Barton 4 Steals Kenny Kadji 1
Will Barton 2 Blocks Kenny Kadji 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Memphis 71 46.7 1-12 14-20 12 38 7 10 7
Miami - Florida 54 35.7 5-18 9-18 6 29 5 3 13