Memphis basketball survives in OT versus VCU. Here are five takeaways from the win

RICHMOND, Va. — Jaykwon Walton had not been in the game for Memphis basketball against VCU since there was 10:30 left in regulation.

But when the game went into overtime with the score tied at 72, it was Walton whose 3-pointer got the ball rolling for the Tigers.

Of course it was.

Those were the only three points of the game for Walton.

Of course they were.

Memphis (6-2), which was coming off back-to-back losses, beat the Rams (4-5) in overtime 85-80. David Jones led the Tigers with 23 points, Jahvon Quinerly knocked down 20 and Caleb Mills put up 17. The team finished 23 of 29 at the free-throw line.

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The Siegel Center was mostly full for the midweek matchup, and the Rams faithful was vocal. Late in overtime, one VCU fan was voicing his displeasure with the officiating crew, and Jones turned toward him, smiled and blew him a kiss.

Memphis goes on the road to face Texas A&M on Sunday (3 p.m. CT, ESPN2).

Here are five takeaways from the game.

JQ takes over when Tigers needed someone

Jayden Hardaway’s 3-pointer may have been the spark the Tigers were searching for much of the first half.

But not long after, he passed the baton to Quinerly. In the next 3 minutes, 34 seconds, the Alabama transfer kicked things into gear with four points and two assists. His second of two layups during that stretch tied the game at 28 with 3:59 left in the half.

The highlight might have come a few minutes earlier. Quinerly came down with a defensive rebound, then fired a strike through some traffic from the other side of half-court to Malcolm Dandridge, who finished off the play with an authoritative dunk.

New lineup no help

Penny Hardaway has been known to shake things up when things aren’t going Memphis’ way.

So, coming off back-to-back losses to Villanova and Ole Miss, he inserted Ashton Hardaway and Nick Jourdain into the starting lineup. Dandridge also got the start because Jordan Brown did not travel to Richmond with the team due to illness, according to Hardaway.

The changes did not pay off — not immediately, at least. VCU led 11-6 at the first media timeout. The Tigers were 2-for-5 from the field, with one turnover.

Hardaway didn’t wait long to start subbing, bringing in four fresh faces after the timeout, then adding another 35 seconds later. He made 21 substitutions in the first half.

Early free throws

The outlook was bleak in the early going.

VCU, after racing to an 11-6 lead, pushed the advantage to 19-9 with 11:58 left in the first half. Even though the Tigers never trailed by more than 10 before halftime, there were issues. They got out-rebounded 17-11 and shot just 18.2% beyond the arc.

Their saving grace? The free-throw line. They were 8 of 10 in the first half; VCU was only 1-for-3.

David Jones goes down — briefly

Jones came up with a steal with 9:55 left in regulation. Headed toward the basket, though, he fell hard.

Jones, apparently in agony, immediately grabbed his left leg and pounded the floor. Multiple staffers tended to the team's leading scorer, and Penny Hardaway came over to check on him. After a couple of minutes, Jones popped up and walked off under his own power.

He went to the locker room briefly, then jogged back to the bench and checked back into the game. He missed 35 seconds of game time.

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The Rams attack the rim

VCU was dominant around the basket.

The Rams finished the game with eight dunks and 10 layups. The overall rebounding battle was a draw at 38. On the offensive glass, though, VCU came down with 18, which it turned into 18 second-chance points.

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

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Five takeaways from Memphis basketball's overtime win over VCU