No. 1 Memphis gets CPR from CDR, Tigers erase 7-point deficit in final 1:22 vs. UAB

No. 1 Memphis gets CPR from CDR
Tigers erase 7-point deficit in final 1:22 vs. UAB
Posted: Saturday February 16, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Chris Douglas-Roberts converted a three-point play with 6.5 seconds left, giving No. 1 Memphis a 79-78 win over UAB Saturday night and keeping the Tigers perfect.

The Blazers' Robert Vaden then missed badly on an off-balance 3-point attempt and Lawrence Kinnard grabbed the long rebound. He heaved up a shot in the paint that went in, and officials promptly headed to the scorer's table to watch replays.

They ruled that Kinnard didn't get the shot off in time.

Several Memphis players had angry exchanges with UAB fans who stormed the court celebrating what they thought was a win. Then the Tigers (25-0, 11-0 Conference USA) were quickly herded to their locker room with their 44-game regular-season and 34-game league winning streaks barely intact.

UAB (17-8, 7-3) is the last CUSA team to beat Memphis, 715 days earlier.

Douglas-Roberts had 32 points and seven rebounds. Antonio Anderson added 27 points and four 3-pointers for the Tigers. They combined to make 22 shots, the rest of the team just six.

The tune was the same at the end.

The Tigers missed nine consecutive shots before Anderson's 3-pointer from the corner cut the deficit 77-73 with 1:22 left. After a UAB miss, Douglas-Roberts drilled a 3 with 38 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to one point.

With 15 seconds left, Robert Vaden then made one of two free throws setting up the final sequences. Douglas-Roberts spun and hit a shot over Vaden, who fouled him.

Vaden scored 27 points and made four 3s for the Blazers after missing the previous game with a groin injury. Memphis native Kinnard added 19 points and 11 boards.

The Tigers tied Texas' 1913-17 teams for the eighth-best regular-season winning streak at 44 games.

Memphis trailed by two points at the half for the second straight game, but this time didn't respond to the challenge.

Vaden's 3-pointer over two defenders at the buzzer gave the Blazers a 43-41 halftime lead. The Tigers had fallen behind 27-16 with only Douglas-Roberts hitting his shots. He made five of his seven attempts over the opening 12 minutes while the rest of the team was a combined 1-of-9.

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