FRISCO, Texas — SMU finished their season on an 85-84 heartbreaker to Boise State in the NIT on Thursday night. The Mustangs finish 11-6 and 7-4 in the American Athletic Conference. Boise State moves on to the 2nd round of the NIT at 19-8 on the season.
Boise State took a 14-point immediately after tip-off, not allowing SMU to score for the first 5 minutes of the game. The Mustangs kept playing hard but couldn’t seem to get clicking offensively. Boise States’ biggest lead came early in the game, up 30-9. The Mustangs weren’t shaken by the 21-point deficit, and quickly earned some fast break points. Defensively, SMU kept pressure on BSU’s perimeter shooting and cut the lead to 10 with 6.5 minutes left.
A few possessions later Tyson Jolly hit a big 3 and the crowd went wild, the Mustangs knew they could get back in the game. SMU kept the heat on defensively and by the break, it was a 6-point game. Both teams shot over 50% in the first half, Boise State leading with 57%, compared to SMU’s 53%.
The 2nd half was high in intensity. Points were hard earned by both teams and timely buckets were necessary to stay competitive. With just over 10 minutes to play, the Mustangs finally tied it up at 65 on a huge Emmanual Bandoumel 3-pointer. After that, the game was up for grabs until the final buzzer. At the end, Boise owned the 1-point difference.
SMU Head Coach, Tim Jankovich said he’s incredibly proud of his team and happy with their effort. He acknowledged the pain of getting beat in post season games but said the obstacles his team overcame in a year full of adversity was outstanding.
Jr. Point Guard, Kendric Davis earned his 5th double-double of the season, scoring 23 points, with 12 assists. Tyson Jolly also had a huge day including 17-points which were crucial in the first half when the Mustangs started to cut the lead. Bandoumel ended with 16-points, 9 of those coming on 3’s.
