Forward Trahson Burrell scored 21 points and forward Shaq Goodwin added 17 points as Memphis defeated Tulane 77-65 Tuesday afternoon at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

Two other Tigers -- guard Ricky Tarrant Jr. (16 points) and forward K.J. Lawson (15 points) -- scored in double figures as Memphis (9-3, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) won its conference opener.

Guard Malik Morgan led the Green Wave (7-7, 0-1) with 18 points and forward Dylan Osetkowski and guard Cameron Reynolds each added 15 points.

A three-minute span midway through the second half doomed the Green Wave. With the scored knotted at 46-46, Tulane proceeded to turn the ball over four times and went ice cold from the field.

Memphis took advantage of the opportunity opening up a five-point lead when Burrell knocked down a 3-point shot to give the Tigers a 58-50 lead.

Tulane trailed most of the first half and Memphis’ largest lead was eight at 24-16. But the Tigers went cold and scored only three points in the final 4:52 of the half.

The Green Wave chipped away and took their first lead since the opening moments on Morgan's layup that made the score 36-34 with 1:38 left in the half.

Memphis missed all five 3-point attempts in the first 20 minutes, but ended up sinking five of 15 attempts for the game.

The Tigers, the nation's No. 3 rebounding team were outrebounded by the Green Wave, 44-40.