STORRS — Mike Parks Jr. and freshman Jamal Johnson each scored 18 points and Memphis extended its winning streak to four with an 83-79 win over UConn on Sunday.
Raynere Thornton added 16 points for the Tigers (18-11, 9-7 American), who played their first full game without injured Jeremiah Martin, the conference’s leading scorer.
Jalen Adams scored 25 points and Christian Vital had 19 for UConn (13-16, 6-10 American), which has lost seven of its last nine games.
Memphis led by 10 at halftime and stretched it to 61-38 after a layup by Mike Nickelberry midway through the second half.
But UConn turned up the pressure, and began chipping away. A 3-point shot by Adams, who had 21 points in the second half, cut the lead to single digits at 73-64 with just over three minutes left.
A layup by Adams made it 81-77 with seven seconds to go, but Kareem Brewton Jr. hit a pair of foul shots at the other end to seal the win.
BIG PICTURE
Memphis: Martin will undergo surgery Tuesday after breaking his left foot this week in a win over Houston. He is expected to be out six to eight months. The 6-foot-3 sophomore was averaging 18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and a league-best 2.3 steals per game. Martin scored 21 points in the Tigers’ 73-49 win over UConn in Tennessee, one of eight games this season that the Huskies have lost by 20 points or more.
UConn: The Huskies have just two regular-season games and the conference tournament to avoid a second straight losing season, after going 30 years without one.
UP NEXT
Memphis: The Tigers will play their final two regular-season games at home. They host South Florida on Thursday and East Carolina next Sunday.
UConn: The Huskies host Temple on Wednesday, then close the regular season at Houston next Sunday.
