Dorsey, Tigers maul Owls

Dorsey, Tigers maul Owls

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Joey Dorsey scored nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help second-ranked Memphis pummel Rice, 77-50, at Reliant Arena.

Chris Douglas-Roberts and Doneal Mack both finished with 16 points for the Tigers (16-0, 3-0 C-USA), who are off to their best start since the 1985-86 campaign when they began the year with a 20-0 record. Antonio Anderson contributed 10 points and dished out five assists in the win.

Paulius Packevicius had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Rice (3-13, 0-3), which has lost six in a row. Scott Saunders tallied 12 points and Lawrence Ghoram donated 10 in the loss.

Memphis set the tone early by sinking their first three shots, all high- percentage, in the opening minute and led 19-4 after Mack drained a three.

The Owls were undaunted, using a 17-9 run to battle back and trim the deficit to seven, 28-21, with about four minutes remaining.

The Tigers recovered and closed the half with a 12-2 spurt to open up a 17- point advantage, 40-23. Douglas-Roberts' pair from the charity stripe kick started the run, which featured five consecutive points from Dorsey followed by another trey from Mack. Derrick Rose capped the run with a pair of free throws.

Memphis' lead reached 20, 48-28, after Jeff Robinson's layup, and the Tigers maintained a healthy margin for the remainder of the contest.

Game Notes

Memphis has won all five meetings between the two schools...The Tigers defense forced 19 turnovers in the first half...Memphis shot 36.8 percent from the floor, while the Owls made 36 percent of their shots...Memphis won a close battle on the glass, 42-41...The Tigers have won 15 of their 16 games by double figures.

01/16 22:43:13 ET