Mustangs Pick Up 66-48 Win at Tulane

By Nate Regan
nregan@smu.edu

Three players scored in double digits for the Mustangs and SMU evened its overall record with a 66-48 win over Tulane Saturday afternoon in New Orleans.

Senior guard Derek Williams led SMU (11-11, 4-4 Conference USA) with 18 points and the Mustangs finished with a team record for rebound differential (41 to 17) over a C-USA opponent.

“I don’t think we played great and yet we won, and we won significantly,” head coach Matt Doherty said in a post-game radio interview. “I’m so pleased to bounce back after the loss on the road to Southern Miss [on Tuesday].”

The Green Wave (7-15, 2-7 C-USA) was able to score 30 points off of 20 SMU turnovers, but the Mustangs went 19-for-20 at the free throw line and benefitted from 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds from junior forward Papa Dia, who is now just two boards shy of becoming the 31st player in school history with 500 rebounds.

Sophomore forward Robert Nyakundi added 14 points with six rebounds and three steals as the Mustangs won for the fifth time in six games, dating back to mid-January.

“I think a lot of what we’ve been doing starts with our defense,” Doherty said.

After falling behind by two points to begin the game, SMU went on a 21-2 run and took a 35-21 lead into halftime.

The Green Wave closed to within seven points in the second half, but the Mustangs widened the gap with several free throws down the stretch.

“I’m just really proud of the way we pulled this out,” Doherty said. “Tulane made a run and we responded nicely.”

Next up for SMU is a home game against the first-place University of Texas-El Paso Miners (17-5, 8-1 C-USA) on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.