LAS VEGAS -- Even PJ Haggerty himself struggles to explain it.

As Memphis' 6-foot-3 combo guard sat outside the visitor's locker room at Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday night, a reporter asked him about how he'd done it again -- how he'd carried his team in the second half of its come-from-behind 80-74 win against UNLV.

Haggerty finished with a game-high 29 points to go with three assists and three rebounds, with 16 of those points coming after halftime. After the Tigers (2-0) found themselves in a 12-point hole. After the Runnin' Rebels' home crowd had gotten a little too into it.

But to Haggerty, his second-half outburst -- his second only two games into the season, too -- was inevitable.