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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Shaq Goodwin scored a career-high 21 points, Memphis shot 54 percent and the No. 16 Tigers defeated Northwestern State 96-76 on Saturday.
Goodwin finished 8 of 11 from the field for Memphis (6-1). Joe Jackson scored 18 points with five assists and Michael Dixon Jr. had 14 points, connecting on 6 of 9 from the field.
Jalan West had 15 points to lead Northwestern State (3-4), which lost for the fourth time in its last five. DeQuan Hicks scored 13 points and Patrick Robinson had 12 points for the Demons, who shot 40 percent from the field. That included only 3 of 18 shots from beyond the arc.
Memphis never trailed and led by as many as 30 with just over 6 minutes left. At that point, Memphis coach Josh Pastner substituted his starters.
The game was expected to be a fast-paced affair. The Demons entered as one of the highest-scoring teams in the country, averaging 89.7 points. But they also allow 90.8 points, near the bottom of the NCAA stats.
Memphis, which averages 84.8 points, displayed its offensive firepower in the first half. The Tigers connected on 58 percent of their shots before the break and led 56-29 at intermission. Dixon and Goodwin had 12 points each to lead Memphis.
The Demons struggled offensively in the first half, hitting slightly under 30 percent from the field and missing all but one of their 10 shots from 3-point range.
Memphis' lead was 11 with 8:36 left in the half when the Tigers began making shot from all over the floor. They increased the lead to 41-26, and Memphis then made 12 straight points.
Northwestern State was able to cut into the lead to open the second half. In the first 4 minutes of the half, the Tigers were averaging a turnover a minute. The sloppy play by Memphis would result in the Tigers finishing with 17 turnovers, compared to 13 for the Demons.
Still, any push by the Demons, including shooting 50 percent through a significant portion of the half, was not enough to deter the Tigers.
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