SMU Beats UT Rio Grande Valley
By Dylan Edwards, SMUMustangs.com
DALLAS (SMU) – With a huge matchup looming on Saturday night against No. 14 USC at Moody Coliseum, it would have been easy for SMU to just go through the motions and look past UTRGV. The Mustangs did not do that.
UNIVERSITY PARK, TX - NOVEMBER 28: Brooke Williamson announces during the game between SMU and UT Rio Grande Valley on November 28, 2017 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire)
SMU (6-2) took control of the game early with its 49-point first half, the highest-scoring half of the season, and never let the Vaqueros even threaten on its way to a 95-64 victory on Tuesday night.
The Mustangs opened up a first-half lead of 24 points and never looked back, helped along by sophomore Jimmy Whitt setting a career-high in points in the first 20 minutes of the contest with 16 points. Whitt finished with 18 points on extremely efficient 9-of-12 shooting from the field while also adding six assists and five rebounds.
Junior Shake Milton led the Mustangs on the night in points, putting up 22. That total was helped along by sinking 9-of-10 shots at the charity stripe. Fellow Junior Jarrey Foster provided a career-high with 19 points, the third time he’s reached 19 this season. Freshman Ethan Chargois rounded out the double-digit scorers for SMU with his 15 points.
SMU’s 55 percent from the field was its best shooting percentage of the year on its way to the team’s season-high 91 points. On the other end of the court, the Mustangs forced 15 turnovers which directly led to 20 of SMU’s points.
The Mustangs dominated the Vaqueros down low with SMU outscoring UTRGV 38-10 in the paint. Adding to that, SMU finished plus-9 on the boards.
Now, SMU puts its 27-game home win streak on the line against No. 14 USC at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
