SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Doneal Mack scored 16 points to lead Memphis (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP) to an 84-70 victory over Seton Hall in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Friday night.
The Tigers (4-0) led 70-46 with 8:42 left and prevailed despite 20 second-half points from Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell, who finished with a career-high 32 points.The Pirates (3-1) overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to shock No. 19 Southern Cal on Thursday, but fell behind 44-30 at intermission this time and couldn't recover.Memphis shot 39.7 percent from the field (25 of 63) and made only 65.2 percent of its free throws (30 of 46) in the fourth meeting between the two schools.Willie Kemp added 14 points for the Tigers while Tyreke Evans chipped in 12.Eugene Harvey scored 21 points for Seton Hall and John Garcia tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds.Memphis will play Xavier in the tournament final Sunday.The Pirates were plagued by turnovers in the first half. Memphis scored 16 points off 11 Seton Hall turnovers while committing only three miscues.Seton Hall drew within four points at 21-17 with 11:02 remaining in the first half, but a 9-2 run gave the Tigers a cushion they would never relinquish.A 10-2 run early in the second half, highlighted by two uncontested dunks, gave Memphis a 58-35 lead with 13:09 remaining.The Tigers outrebounded the Pirates 46-36.
