Phil Stukenborg

phil.stukenborg@commercialappeal.com

NORMAN, Okla. – Jeremiah Martin's answer to a question about his costly turnover in the closing seconds of last week's home loss to Monmouth was barely audible. His eyes were cast downward as he responded, in a few short words, how he had made a mistake.

Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center, all was forgotten — by teammates, by fans, by Martin — during a remarkable clutch effort in the second half and overtime that produced a career-high 25 points and lifted the University of Memphis to a 99-94 victory before a national television audience and a stunned crowd of about 5,000.

"Jeremiah was just outstanding," said Tiger coach Tubby Smith.

In what was the signature victory in Smith's early Tiger career — a win over future hall of fame coach Lon Kruger and against a Big 12 team on the road — Martin got considerable help from the team's reliable contributors. Sophomore forward Dedric Lawson, who was dominant in the paint, scored a team-high 26 points with 12 rebounds. His brother, K.J., who enjoyed similar success down low, added 19 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Markel Crawford had 20 points.

Memphis (8-3) improved to 7-1 against the Sooners, including 2-0 at the Noble Center, but it required persistence. And Martin's efforts.

"We won," Martin said. "We just stuck together and stuck to the script."

Martin made four free throws in the final minute of regulation and a key three-point play to open the overtime as the Tigers improved to 7-1 against the Sooners, including 2-0 in Norman. OU's Jordan Woodard had sent the game into overtime a split second before regulation ended by banking in a 3-pointer.

In addition to his three points in the overtime, Martin assisted on a dunk by Jimario Rivers, while Lawson scored back-to-back baskets to put the Tigers up 93-89 with 1:51 to go. Shortly before Lawson's baskets, Woodard, who led the Sooners (6-4) with 22 points, drained another 3-pointer to tie the game at 89.

The Tigers, shooting 61.7 percent from the line, made their last 16 free throws to secure the win. They finished shooting an uncharacteristic 87.5 percent from the line (28-of-32) and an equally impressive 57 percent from the floor, which included 60 percent (15-of-25) in the second half and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) in overtime.

“Well, we gave up a lot of buckets right at the rim and you can’t afford to do that against a good ball club," said Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger. "(Jeremiah) Martin made some good plays on the perimeter and made some shots, but there were too many in the rim and in the paint."

For Smith, it was a win his team needed after the loss to Monmouth, to show it could recover and to prove it could execute in late-game situations.

"I thought our kids showed a lot of heart and character, especially after Jordan Woodard knocked that 3 in off the side to send the game to overtime," Smith said. "Winning this game on the road against a really good Sooner team is a big plus for us.”

The Tigers fell behind by 11 early in the second half (58-47) but refused to go away.

Trailing 66-55 midway through the half, the Tigers went on a 9-0 run powered mostly by Crawford. Crawford had five points during the stretch to trim the Oklahoma advantage to 66-64 with 8:46 left.

Two Martin 3-pointers a few possessions later followed by a Dedric Lawson putback made it 73-72 Oklahoma with 4:33 to go.

Martin’s two free throws with 56.8 seconds left gave the Tigers their first lead at 78-77. Memphis made eight straight free throws in the final minute of regulation to put themselves in position for the upset.

But Woodard tied the game at 84 by banking in a 3-pointer.

"Lucky," whispered Dedric Lawson, when a question was asked about the shot in the postgame conference..

Memphis stepped up in the OT period and showed it could withstand a punch.

Memphis trailed 47-38 at the half and that, in itself, represented a decent first 20 minutes.

The Sooners shoot over 80 percent during the game’s first 10 minutes – while building a lead that reached 13 points.

"We knew we were going to come back," K.J. Lawson said. "Because you don't make shots (like Oklahoma was making) the whole game. It was a matter of us getting stops at the end of the day."

The Tigers overcame the loss of big man Chad Rykhoek, who left the game with a dislocated left ankle with 5:14 to go in the opening half. Rykhoek crumpled slowly to the floor under the Memphis basket with Oklahoma ahead, 40-30, and was quickly surrounded by medical personnel.

The Soooners had taken a 35-23 lead during an eight-minute first-half stretch in which OU connected on 13 consecutive field goals, including five 3-pointers.

The Tigers stayed close by shooting 52 percent in the first half and getting 12 points from Dedric Lawson.

Despite their torrid start, the Sooners finished the opening half shooting 55.9 percent and making 6 of 11 3-pointers.

Notes: The U of M is introducing a new men's basketball ticket package – the AAC & 1. The 10-game package starts at $50 and has tickets to the final non-conference home game of the season Dec. 30 against South Carolina in addition to each of the nine American Athletic Conference home games. For information cal 678-2331 or visit gotigersgotix.com.

Tigers' next game

Who: Memphis vs. Incarnate Word

When, where: 7 p.m., Wednesday, FedExForum

TV, radio: No TV; ESPN3 (streaming); WREC-AM 600, WEGR-FM 102.7