GREENVILLE, N.C. — Memphis basketball made the most out of this year’s extra day, throttling East Carolina 82-58 Thursday at Minges Coliseum.

On Leap Day, the Tigers (21-8, 10-6 AAC) extended their winning streak to three games. The win draws Penny Hardaway’s team to within a half-game of a three-way tie for fourth place (with SMU and UAB) in the league standings. The top four teams at the end of the regular season get a double-bye at the AAC tournament in Fort Worth.

Memphis welcomes UAB to FedExForum on Sunday (4:30 p.m., ESPN2).

Nae’Qwan Tomlin led the Tigers in scoring for the second straight game with 20 points, while David Jones had 18.

‘David Jones being David Jones’

The affable Jones smirked at first when he was asked about his second-half performance against FAU last week. Then, he laid it out simply.

“Just David Jones being David Jones,” he said.

The All-American candidate and the AAC’s leading scorer was up to his old tricks versus the Pirates. ECU had no answer for the 6-foot-6 guard, who has scored 18 or more points 12 times in his past 14 games. It was also his sixth double-double in his past seven games. The only game he did not finish with a double-double was against Charlotte on Feb. 21, when he left the game with an eye injury early in the second half.