Jan. 13, 2001

Box Score

By RICK GANO
AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO - Scooter McFadgon hit a go-ahead leaner with 1:11 left and Shannon Forman added two free throws with 14 seconds to go Saturday night as Memphis played tough in the stretch and beat DePaul 72-68 for its fourth straight victory.

DePaul's Bobby Simmons had two chances in the final 15 seconds to tie the game. With the Blue Demons down 69-67 after McFadgon's basket, he made the second of two free throws. And after Forman's free throws made it 71-68, he missed a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining.

Kelly Wise, who had 13 points and 18 rebounds for the Tigers (8-8, 2-1 in Conference USA), made a free throw with 1.1 seconds left to seal the victory.

Slumping DePaul (8-7, 1-3) lost its third straight game. The Blue Demons had won the four previous games against Memphis in the tight series whose last five games have been decided by an average of four points.

Shyrone Chatman led Memphis with 17 points. The Tigers shot 52 percent in the second half, hitting 15-of-29 field goal attempts.

Lance Williams paced DePaul with 23 points and Simmons added 20 for the Demons.

With DePaul trailing 67-61, Simmons converted an improbable three-point play, hitting a jumper as he was falling down and the shot clock was running out. His free throw made it 67-64 with 2:41 left.

Chatman's 3-pointer just before the buzzer narrowed DePaul's lead to 33-31 at the end of a foul-slowed first half. The Tigers trailed by two, even though they shot just 35 percent.