The SMU Mustangs defeated the No. 6 Houston Cougars 85-83 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas on Wednesday, February 9, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
SMU (17-5, 8-2 AAC) trailed by 15 points in the second half but rallied to secure a big win on the season and move within one game of first place in the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
Kendric Davis led the Mustangs in scoring 22 points, while Marcus Weathers added 20, and his twin brother Michael Weathers contributed 17 points. The Dallas Morning News reported that the trio combined to make 45% of their shot attempts, including 54% of their three-point shots.
Davis is the AAC’s leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game, but he had not reached 20 points in the team’s previous three games. He picked the perfect time to break the 20-point threshold finally.
“It’s the best one I’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Davis, who is a Houston-area native. “Probably in my career.”
The teams entered the game going in opposition directions. SMU had just suffered a bad 72-57 loss on the road to Wichita State on Saturday, February 5. That loss put them two games behind Houston for first place in the AAC.
On the other hand, the Cougars entered the game undefeated in the AAC and easily defeated Cincinnati 80-58 win on Saturday, February 5. Overall, Houston (20-3, 9-1) was on a 12-game winning streak. With a win over the Mustangs, the Cougars would have opened a three-game lead in the conference and essentially clinched the AAC regular-season title.
Early in the game, it looked as though both teams would continue heading in opposite directions. Houston raced out of the gate to take an 11-0 lead less than two minutes into the game and did not take their foot off the gas. They made 70% of their shots before halftime, including 7-of-11 three-point attempts. At halftime, the Cougars led 51-40.
“They looked like an NBA team the first 10 minutes. Literally,” SMU head coach Tim Jankovich said. “That was as good as it looks.”
Houston opened their largest lead of the game at 60-45 with 16:49 remaining in the game, but that is when SMU started to claw back. The Mustangs battled and finally took the lead when Davis made two free throws with 40.6 seconds remaining to break an 81-81 tie. Michael Weathers made the second of two free throws with 24.1 seconds left to score 84-81 in favor of the Mustangs.
Houston had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer, so SMU attempted to foul Kyler Edwards to send him to the free-throw line where he could only score a maximum of two points. However, as a Mustang player went in for the foul, Edwards launched a three-point attempt from near half-court.
The officiating crew ruled that Edwards was fouled in the motion of shooting the three-pointer, so he went to the foul line for three free-throw attempts with 2.4 seconds remaining. If Edwards made all three free throws, the game would be tied and almost certainly head to overtime.
Edwards made the first, but the second attempt was off the mark, sending the fans at Moody Coliseum into jubilation.
“I was just hoping he’d get the bubble guts and miss one,” Davis said of Edwards. “And he did.Edwards intentionally missed the third free throw to give his team a chance to grab an offensive rebound and get one last shot attempt. Officials called Houston for a lane violation, and possession went over to SMU, effectively ending the game.
At the final buzzer, Mustang fans stormed the court to celebrate their most significant accomplishment of the season thus far.
The win is huge for SMU as it likely improves their resume for being selected to the national tournament. The Mustangs have not made the tournament since 2017, but a win over No.6 Houston has helped their chances to make it 2022.