DALLAS, Texas — SMU Basketball started American Athletic Conference play with a 70-55 win over East Carolina University. SMU stays undefeated, moving to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in conference competition. The Mustangs have won their AAC opener each of the last 7 seasons. Moody Coliseum games have also been good to SMU, defending their home court with a 19-2 record over their last 21 home games. The Pirates drop to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in the AAC.
ECU started fast offensively, keeping SMU off balance and going up early in the 1st half. The Mustangs rallied back, tying it up on a Kendric Davis 3-pointer. Davis kept SMU in it early on, scoring 8 of their first 13-points. The last 10 minutes leading up to the break were characterized as physical and inspired by both sides. With less than a minute to go, Davis hit a huge 3-pointer, putting SMU up _ leading into the 2nd half.
SMU earned a hard-fought lead early in the 2nd half and never let up. Offensively, the Mustangs got their posts more involved. The added threats proved to be a tough dynamic for ECU to stop. Head Coach, Tim Jankovich said he was pleased with his team’s game, even though it wasn’t a “pretty win,” because they overcame several obstacles over the last week. Among other things, the Mustangs battled through some minor injuries and shortened practices, which are normal during their final exams of the semester.
Davis continues to shine at point guard, leading the Mustangs with 17 points. He was followed by Darius McNeill with 13 points and Feron Hunt with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Hunt stepped up in the second half, proving to be a key piece for the Mustangs offense. He scored on 3’s, fast breaks, dunks, short shots in the paint and one-on-one drives to the basket. Hunt also got big time rebounds and blocked a shot.
SMU will try to add games in the next few weeks, but their current schedule has at Temple on December 30th as their next matchup. 2021 will start with 3 straight home games. AAC games continue through the beginning of March, followed by the league tournament March 11th-14th in Fort Worth.
