Tyrese Hunter tallied a game-high 23 points and PJ Haggerty finished with 16 points and nine rebounds as Memphis earned a spot in the Maui Invitational championship game by beating Michigan State 71-63 on Tuesday in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Hunter was 5-of-10 from 3-point territory and has made 12 3-pointers in the two tournament games. He scored 26 points in Memphis’ 99-97 overtime upset of No. 2 UConn on Monday.
Michigan State trailed by 15 in the second half, but pulled within seven points when a Jase Richardson jumper made it 62-55 with 5:01 left.
Memphis regained the momentum on its next trip down the court when Hunter was fouled on a made 3-pointer. His free throw handed the Tigers (6-0) a 66-55 lead with 4:33 remaining, and the Spartans (5-2) failed to get closer than five points the rest of the way.
Richardson led Michigan State with 18 points. Jaden Akins added 12 points, Frankie Fidler finished with 10 and Jaxon Kohler paired seven points with eight rebounds.
Colby Rogers scored 10 points for Memphis, which will face No. 4 Auburn in the championship game on Wednesday. Auburn topped No. 12 North Carolina 85-72, leaving the Tar Heels in the Wednesday third-place game against the Spartans.
Memphis had a 32-23 lead following a Hunter dunk with 3:49 to play in the first half. It was the largest lead for either team in the opening 20 minutes, but Michigan State was within three points, 34-31, at halftime.
The Spartans were 2-for-21 from 3-point range in Monday’s 72-56 victory over Colorado, but went 5-for-11 on 3-point attempts in the first half Tuesday.
It was a 36-36 game early in the second half, but a Hunter 3-pointer capped a 10-2 run that put Memphis in front 46-38 with 14:13 left.
The Tigers led 54-42 following a Rogers 3-pointer with 11:02 left and stretched their advantage to 57-42 on a three-point play by Moussa Cisse with 10:50 remaining. Cisse logged nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
The Spartans, who entered the game ranked last among Division I teams in 3-point field goal percentage (20 percent), made 7 of 20 shots from behind the arc.
–Field Level Media
