MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis got off to a quick start and finished strong to run away with a 94-70 victory against Ohio on Friday night at FedEx Forum.

The Tigers (3-0) built an 18-4 lead in the opening eight minutes. The Bobcats (1-3) got as close as three and trailed by only seven with 8:30 remaining before Memphis went on a big run late.

Ajay Sheldon’s career night of 20 points on 6-of-10 3-point shooting was not nearly enough. AJ Brown added 19 points, while Elmore Janes reached double figures with 11 points.

PJ Haggerty and Tyrese Hunter had 23 and 21 points, respectively, to lead Memphis, with Nicholas Jourdain added 15 points and eight rebounds.

After James scored the game’s opening bucket, Memphis went on a 14-2 run, including nine straight points, capped by a fastbreak Jourdain dunk that made it 18-4.

Sheldon answered with consecutive 3-pointers to get Ohio back in it, and he hit another one at the 8:56 mark to make it 21-16. A Brown trey made it a 31-27 game, and a little later, Vic Searls scored in the paint to cut the deficit to three with 3:17 left before halftime.

Memphis took a 43-38 lead into the locker room and came out quick in the second half as well with a 12-2 run to go up 55-40 with 16:06 to play. Aidan Hadaway drained a 3-pointer to begin a 7-0 Ohio run and was as close as 64-57 on a Brown layup with 8:36 left.

But the Tigers then went on a 23-6 run over the next six minutes to take an 87-63 lead with 2:41 left.

Memphis shot 56.1% from the field, including 13 of 18 (72.2%) from long range, and made 17 of 22 free throws. Ohio made just 36.9% of its shots, doing better outside of the arc at 12 of 31 (38.7%) than inside. The Bobcats were 10 of 11 on foul shots.

AJ Clayton was 0-for-6 on 3-pointers and scored seven points with six rebounds and four blocks. Jackson Paveletzke was just 2-of-10 shooting and scored four points with seven rebounds and five assists. Shareef Mitchell sat out for the second straight game.

Ohio competes in the Myrtle Beach Invitational from Nov. 21-24 in Conway, South Carolina, beginning with a game at noon Thursday against Middle Tennessee on ESPNU.