St. John’s transfer David Jones drops 36 to lead Memphis past No. 20 Arkansas

St. John’s transfer David Jones lit up No. 20 Arkansas for a career-high 36 points to lead the Memphis Tigers to the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis with an 84-79 victory over the Razorbacks on Thanksgiving night in the Bahamas.

The Tigers (5-0) will face Villanova (5-1) at 2:30 p.m. CT Friday for the tournament title on ESPN.

In the first matchup between the programs in over 20 years, the Thursday-night feast did not disappoint. 

I asked David Jones how he did what he did tonight.

His response is gold. pic.twitter.com/fQuJ9vTztj

— Jason Munz (@munzly) November 24, 2023

Jones finished 10-of-14 from the floor, drilled four triples, converted on 12-of-14 trips to the free throw line and swiped five steals to prove to the nation that he was the best player on the court, at least for the night.

Junior forward Nicholas Jourdain played 21 minutes off the bench but made a number of plays that will not show up in the box score. The ones that will, however, are 12 points, three rebounds, two blocks and a 5-for-5 night from the floor.

Jaykwon Walton also added 11 points, three boards and a pair of assists in 27 minutes.

Memphis led by as many as 10 points late in the second half, forcing 18 Arkansas turnovers and holding the Razorbacks to just four fastbreak points.

DJ IS COOKING 🔥🔥

He's got 3⃣4⃣ and the Tigers are up 10 with 4:30 to play. pic.twitter.com/74D9c1qPVt

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) November 24, 2023

Jones scored 17 of his points in the first half and hit back-to-back threes in the final 23 seconds to send Memphis into the intermission with a 42-37 advantage.

After Arkansas quickly tied the game in the first two minutes of the second period, Memphis got 11-straight points from Jourdain and Jones to push its lead to 60-52 with 10 minutes remaining. 

The Razorbacks got back to within four on three separate occasions in the final 1:10, but the Tigers were too steady and made the plays when they needed them to ice the victory.  

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