Jahvon Quinerly the hero again as No. 15 Memphis basketball beats SMU. Here are 5 takeaways

Memphis basketball's Jahvon Quinerly did it again.

Just days after draining a game-winning 3-pointer at Tulsa with 4 seconds left in the game, the point guard hit another winning 3-pointer, this time with 3.2 seconds on the clock to lift the Tigers over SMU 62-59 Sunday at FedExForum.

No. 15 Memphis (13-2, 2-0 AAC) beat one of the best defensive teams in the country, extending its winning streak to eight games. The loss snaps SMU's four-game winning streak.

David Jones gave Memphis 17 points and nine rebounds. Quinerly scored 11 points, and Jaykwon Walton finished with 10.

"For me, these types of wins are more special to me because nothing was perfect about it, and we still found a way to win against a really good SMU team," Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said.

But it was Quinerly whose step-back triple from the left wing − essentially the same spot on the floor where he hit the game-winner Thursday − that kept the Tigers from suffering their first loss in more than a month.

"That's my spot right there," Quinerly said, noting that area of the floor has always been his hot zone.

"I done got a couple game-winners in high school from that spot," he said smiling. "That was just an in-rhythm step-back. The other one was more of a pull-up. This one, he let me kinda get in a rhythm there, and I just rose up over him. I don't have much to say on that. It just happened."

Here are five observations from Sunday's contest.

Night-and-day halves

Most everything the Mustangs tried in the first half worked, apart from shooting 14% from three.

SMU (10-5, 1-1) was 12-for-20 inside the arc through the first 20 minutes. It also outrebounded the Tigers 25-9 and carried a 36-24 lead into halftime.

Whatever Hardaway said or did during the break was effective. The Tigers hit more than twice as many 3-pointers as they did in the first half. They controlled the boards. They found success in transition. And they held off the upset-minded Mustangs.

"Man, the second half we played was phenomenal," Hardaway said.

His halftime speech was simple. Hardaway said he vocalized the rebounding breakdown.

"'Do I need to say anything more?'" Hardaway asked his players. "They didn't say anything. They were like, 'OK, understood.' I said, 'Hey, we're not gonna panic, but we do have to fight.'"

Nae'Qwan Tomlin struggles

In his fourth game with the Tigers, Nae'Qwan Tomlin had his first rough go.

The midseason transfer and former Kansas State star had just two points and three rebounds in 14 minutes, with no blocks and no steals. His playing time was limited considerably by the foul trouble he found himself in. And with 9:32 left in the game, he fouled out.

Jayhlon Young gives Tigers a much-needed spark

One of the few bright spots of the abysmal first half was Jayhlon Young.

The Tigers were on the verge of completely unraveling. SMU's lead had swelled from 12-11 to 22-13 and Memphis had not made a field goal in almost five minutes when Young went back into the game with 7:23 left,.

A few minutes later, he went to work. During a 7-0 run that cut the Mustangs' lead to 30-22 with 2:58 to go before halftime, Young put up four points (of the six he scored in 10 minutes in the first half) and assisted on the other field goal (a Jaykwon Walton 3-pointer). He also chased down SMU's leading scorer, Zhuric Phelps, and blocked his layup attempt.

Young could continue to see a larger role in the wake of Caleb Mills' knee injury.

Tigers crushed on the glass in the first half

Rebounding is not Memphis' strong suit. In 14 games prior to Sunday, it had been outrebounded in six of them —once by a whopping 22.

So maybe it wasn't all that surprising that SMU held a 25-9 advantage in the first half. The truly eyebrow-raising part, though, was the Mustangs' domination on the offensive end. Through the first 20 minutes, they had more offensive boards (12) than Memphis had total rebounds.

That led to 10 second-chance points for the Mustangs in the first half.

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David Jones and turnovers

Jones has been the most productive player on Memphis' roster this season. He leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, as well as steals. But he also leads the team in turnovers.

After committing a season-high seven in Thursday's win at Tulsa, Jones gave up the ball three times in the first half alone (he finished with four total).

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jahvon Quinerly 3-pointer lifts No. 15 Memphis basketball over SMU