TJ Cope scored a season-high 21 points and made four dunks, but the New Orleans Privateers men’s basketball team fell to the Memphis Tigers 86-70 on Wednesday at FedEx Forum. The game saw both teams start with strong offense, combining for 23 points by the first media timeout. Memphis opened by making their first five shots from the field, while New Orleans responded with early three-pointers from Coleton Benson and Kedrick Osby.
Memphis then went on a 16-3 run that pushed their lead to 16 points. In the first half, Memphis relied heavily on three-point shooting, hitting eight of sixteen attempts. The Tigers also shot nearly 60 percent from the field in that period and led 48-28 at halftime.
In the second half, New Orleans improved its shooting percentage to 45.7 percent compared to Memphis’ 40 percent. Cope and Irish Coquia combined for 24 points after halftime, each reaching double figures for the first time this season. With just under five minutes left in regulation, a three-pointer by Cope reduced Memphis’ lead to 13 points—the closest margin of the half—but Memphis quickly answered with a seven-point run to secure victory.
Six players from Memphis reached double digits in scoring. Quante Berry led with 17 points; Dug McDaniel posted a double-double of 11 points and ten assists; Zach Davis added ten points and nine rebounds.
For New Orleans, Cope shot seven-for-ten overall and made three out of five three-point attempts in his standout performance. Jordan Buckley contributed fourteen points along with four rebounds and two steals. Coquia finished with ten points and six assists, while MJ Thomas added ten points and collected eight rebounds.
With this result, Memphis remains undefeated against New Orleans across eleven meetings all-time.
The Privateers will begin conference play Saturday at home against HCU at 5 p.m., an event which will include a jersey retirement ceremony honoring former player Bo McCalebb.
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