The official stats read, “HENDERSON, D. rush for 4 yards to the MEM48, 1ST DOWN MEM.” This moment was more significant than one line on Friday's play-by-play in Memphis' 52-31 win over Houston.

Memphis (8-4, 5-3 American Athletic Conference) overcame a halftime deficit to clinch the AAC West Division over the Houston Cougars (8-4, 5-3 AAC).

Thirteen Memphis players appeared in their last game as a Tiger in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Friday. Some were major contributors; others saw minimal action.

Mike Norvell had time to think about the play, time to think about exactly what to call.

After Oklahoma State handed Memphis a 20-point loss in the first round of the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, coach Penny Hardaway called the performance “embarrassing” and vowed to make adjustments.

For the first half Friday, Whitehaven looked nothing like a team that was ready for the bright lights of Cookeville. The second half, though, was a whole other story.

One of the keys to the Grizzlies’ surprising start to the season is that Mike Conley and Marc Gasol have played every game so far. But the Grizzlies got a reminder on Friday afternoon in Los Angeles of what playing without Conley is like, and it wasn’t pretty.

The high school football season has reached the semifinal stage in both Tennessee and Mississippi. Here's a closer look at Friday's games involving area teams. All kickoffs are at 7 p.m.

Memphis 71, Canisius 63

Memphis: 52, Houston: 31 

Nobody at the breakfast table knew what school Jamirah Shutes would choose for college, not even her parents. Missouri, Ole Miss and Purdue were putting pressure on the 5-foot-7 guard from Brownsville to commit. The school 45 minutes away from her and her family still had a shot, though.

The biggest concern for West Memphis football coach Billy Elmore prior to last week's game against Pine Bluff may have been making sure his team wasn't overfed.

ORLANDO — Penny Hardaway sat in front of the microphone in the wake of Oklahoma State’s blowout win over the Memphis Tigers in the AdvoCare Invitational and decided to really lay into the individual he thought was responsible for the listless performance.

It took three big men in constant foul trouble, three technical fouls, and a fading, falling DeMar DeRozan jumper with 1.2 seconds to play for the San Antonio Spurs to almost beat the Memphis Grizzlies at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Thanksgiving eve. But even that wasn’t quite enough.

Memphis (2-1) guard Tyler Harris stepped to the free throw line with 35 seconds to go in Saturday's game against Yale.

The modern college football coach can put the happy shine on almost anything. Even a public sideline spat with a player over a jacket that, well, really wasn’t about a jacket at all.

Memphis defensive coordinator Chris Ball sat down to watch film of the Houston-Tulane game a week ago and wondered if he would have to abandon his game plan – a strategy developed over months.

At the end of the night, they posed for photos. Malcolm Dandridge on the left, DJ Jeffries in the middle, James Wiseman on the right.

As a rematch, Tuesday's game between defending Tennessee state champion East and defending Mississippi state champion Olive Branch at the Landers Center in Southaven left a little to be desired.

Here are Tuesday's reported high school sports results. For corrections, updates or to send in your team's results, please e-mail jvarlas@dailymemphian.com.

Here is this week's Daily Memphian high school honor roll, which recognizes the top individual performers over the last seven days.

After Monday night's 98-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies found themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the Western Conference. 

Center James Wiseman committed Tuesday to play college basketball at the University of Memphis – among the biggest recruiting successes in the program’s history and a huge accomplishment for first-year coach Penny Hardaway.

Just before noon, James Wiseman looked into the ESPN cameras, and said “After long, thoughtful consideration, I will be attending the University of . . .”

Kentucky coach John Calipari acknowledged Tuesday he may be “overrated” as a recruiter after losing the battle with his former employer – the University of Memphis – to sign top prospect James Wiseman.