NASSAU, Bahamas — David Jones threw up two Ms with his hands and stared at his bench before sprinting to the locker room.

As the first-half buzzer sounded at Imperial Arena in Memphis’ Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal game versus No. 20 Arkansas on Thursday, Nov. 23, Jones had made it clear that this was his night. His game. His moment.

The 6-foot-6 wing had just drilled his second 3-pointer in a 23-second span to allow the Tigers (5-0) to take back a lead they would never relinquish in their 84-79 victory over the Razorbacks (4-2) in the Bahamas.

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Jones finished with 36 points on 10-14 shooting (4-8 from 3) to go with four rebounds and two assists. He surpassed his previous career-high (33 against Louisville while at DePaul in 2021) by three.

“My mind was on defense — every single game (coach Penny Hardaway) just talks about defense,” Jones said afterward. “I just came out there to play defense. Then, I started making shots. And he just told me to keep going.”

That level of offensive production was huge in a game in which the Tigers’ other starters — Jahvon Quinerly, Caleb Mills, Jaykwon Walton and Jordan Brown — combined for just 26 points. None of those four tallied more than 11 points either.

But it wasn’t just buckets that won the Tigers this game. It was toughness, hustle and key defensive stops, too.

After trading baskets with Arkansas for much of the first half, Memphis held the Razorbacks to zero field goals in the final 3:45 before halftime.

“My team knows, (you’ll get) freedom on offense, and I’m gonna get at you defensively,” Hardaway said. “That’s just how it works, man.”

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Memphis also forced Arkansas, who was clearly worn out after its double-overtime game versus Stanford on Wednesday night, into several turnovers. The Tigers turned the Razorbacks’ 18 turnovers — nine in each half — into 27 points.

Oh, and then there were the fouls. A lot of them.

With Memphis holding onto a seven-point lead with 11 minutes to go, Arkansas looked out of gas. It was then that the Tigers’ physicality made it most difficult for the Razorbacks to defend without fouling.

“I love every single (person) on this team,” Jones said. “Because, like Coach Penny said, we’re gonna play hard no matter who we play, no matter anything.” 

The Tigers made 16 of their 24 free throws in the final 11 minutes of the game.

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With a decent cushion in hand, Memphis grew its lead to 10 points — its largest of the night — after Walton knocked in a 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining.

Arkansas wouldn’t just go away, though.

The Razorbacks’ 47.3% mark from the floor wasn’t too far off from the Tigers’ 49.1%. They still shot 51.7% in the second half, despite their other costly mistakes, and used a six-point surge in the final three minutes to cut their deficit to just four points with 1:07 left.

But Memphis refused to fold.

A layup by Nick Jourdain with 44.4 seconds left forced Arkansas to start fouling with the hope of extending the contest.

“We have so many scorers that I could just play off of them,” said Jourdain, who was the Tigers’ second-leading scorer with 12 points on 5-5 shooting. “I’ll have nights like this occasionally, maybe some bigger than others. But I’m cool with whatever.”

And on this night, Jourdain and everyone else played off Jones. 

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With just 17 ticks left on the clock, there he was — again.

This time, Jones hit two free throws to push Memphis’ lead back out to six and all but put away the game before letting out an exhale and a smile.

It was his night, indeed.

Other notes:

• Arkansas was led by Khalif Battle, who scored 21 points before fouling out late in the game.
• Thursday marked the renewal of a rivalry between Memphis and Arkansas that dates back to 1966. Prior to this contest, the Tigers and Razorbacks had last met Jan. 2, 2003. Memphis has now tied the all-time series 11-11.
• Former Memphis forward Chandler Lawson played two seasons with the Tigers before transferring to Arkansas this past offseason. The 6-foot-8 Memphis native finished with five points and two rebounds against his old team.
• Tigers coach Penny Hardaway faced Arkansas three times during his two seasons playing for then-Memphis State from 1992 to 1993. As a player, Hardaway posted a 2-1 record against the Razorbacks, with one of those wins coming in the 1992 NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32.
• Up next: Memphis will take on Villanova at 2:30 p.m. CT Friday (ESPN, 98.9 FM) in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.