Hot Shooting Leads No. 20 UNLV Past SMU

By Robby Gillespie
rgillespie@smu.edu

HONOLULU — The SMU men’s basketball team fell behind early to the Rebels and never came within 11 points in the second half on its way to a 67-53 loss at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

The Mustangs trailed 42-19 at halftime after shooting 23 percent from the field and 0-8 from behind the arc, turning the ball over 13 times in the first half.

“They’re as good a defensive team that you’ll see in the country,” SMU Head Coach Matt Doherty said. “They really hit us with a punch and it took us a little while to respond.”

UNLV shot 58 percent from the field in the first half, but eventually cooled off, shooting 41 percent in the second half, allowing SMU to play its way back into the game. The Mustangs won the second half by nine points.

“They’re defensive pressure took us out of what we wanted to do early,” Doherty said. “We wanted to play zone but they started hitting threes. It was a minor victory but we won the second half.”

SMU shot 52 percent in the second half but connected on only two of 15 three point attempts. UNLV scored 32 points off the bench after the Rebels’ starting guards got into early foul trouble. The Rebel bench earned UNLV a game high 28 point lead midway through the second half, but SMU used a 20-6 run to close out the game.

“I was glad that our team did not quit,” Doherty said. “They were overwhelmingly athletic. There’s not many teams in our league that are that athletic.”

SMU guard Derek Williams led the Mustangs with a game high 18 points on 7-16 shooting. He has led the Mustangs in scoring five times this season, but he turned the ball over seven times, contributing to SMU’s 21 total turnovers.

“He’s so quick, when he gets into the paint he can finish,” Doherty said. “I’d like to see him drop the turnovers a little bit.”

The Mustangs will play the loser of the University of Hawaii vs. College of Charleston game, which is set to play later Tuesday night.