Memphis Runs on Star Power

It was a sweet run for Bradley, but Memphis is moving on.

Looking every much like the top-seeded team in the Oakland Regional, Memphis turned a five-point halftime lead into a 80-64 rout over No. 13 Bradley in a Sweet 16 game on Thursday.

The victory fast-forwarded Memphis to Saturday’s regional final against UCLA, which outlasted Gonzaga.

After a sluggish first half, Memphis turned up the intensity on defense and the game quickly turned the Tigers’ way.

“We really guarded, we rebounded in the second half and my stars were stars, all three of them,” Memphis Coach John Calipari said. “We’re pretty good when that happens.”

Those three stars?

Senior forward Rodney Carney led Memphis with 23 points, sophomore guard Darius Washington had 18 and freshman forward Shawne Williams added 12.

Memphis outrebounded Bradley, 41-35.

Bradley held tough through 20 minutes and trailed only 35-30 at intermission.

Memphis, though, made sure Bradley wasn’t going to post its third upset in three games.

Joey Dorsey made a layup to make it 37-30, Washington sank a jumper to up the lead to 39-31 and by the time Carney made a three-point basket with 18:22 left, the lead was 11 and Bradley needed a timeout.

Bradley kept the game from getting out of hand but could never get closer than seven points.

The key?

“We run,” Washington said. “They wanted to run with us and we got the victory.”

Carney, the team’s emotional senior leader, seemed to make every key shot and tip-in statement.

“That’s my purpose,” he said. “I want to get those run-through dunks. I want to dunk on seven-foot guys.”

Thursday’s win marks the first time Memphis has reached the round of eight since 1992.

Bradley?

Well, it could have used Bill Walton, who watched the second half in the stands as he awaited UCLA’s game.

Walton, once the Bruins’ center, dominated Memphis State in the 1973 national title game -- making 21 of 22 shot attempts -- but he was not available for loan to Bradley on Thursday.

The Braves put up a brave front. The little team that did from Peoria became only the fourth 13th-seeded team to qualify for the Sweet 16 after defeating Kansas and Pittsburgh last week, but was clearly no match for the Memphis track club.

The Tigers swarmed Bradley with waves of tall and talented players.

“Yeah, they’re athletic,” Bradley forward Marcellus Sommerville, who led his team with 18 points, said of Memphis.

On looks alone, you could tell at the opening tip which team was the top-seeded team and which team was Bradley. Memphis players shimmered in their white uniforms and there were no shirt sleeves to hide the muscles.

Bradley (22-11) did itself proud after finishing only fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference.

It was the first time Bradley had reached the round of 16 in 51 years and the school’s first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade.

“Now we’ve got a taste of what it is,” Bradley Coach Jim Les said he told his young players.

“We don’t want to make this an every 50 year. We don’t want to make this an every 10 year. We want this to be an every-year occurrence.”

Senior center Patrick O’Bryant, who played his last game in a Bradley uniform, had eight points and 14 rebounds.

“We put Bradley basketball back on the map,” O’Bryant said. “That’s really going to help us out down the road.”

Memphis and Bradley were once adversaries in the MVC and were meeting for the 19th time.

In 1957, Bradley defeated Memphis to win the National Invitation Tournament championship.

Thursday could hardly be called a payback effort -- who’s old enough to remember 1957? -- but it was enough to keep Memphis in the tournament until Saturday.