SMU Downs UTPA

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GARLAND, Texas (AP) — Markus Kennedy came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points, 14 in the second half, as SMU closed out the home-away-from-home portion of its 2013-14 schedule by defeating Texas-Pan American 82-56 on Wednesday night. The Mustangs (9-2) swept six home games played at the Curtis Culwell Center in an eastern suburb of their hometown of Dallas while their long-time campus arena, Moody Coliseum, underwent $47 million of renovations. SMU will next play a home game at Moody on Jan. 4 against Connecticut in its home debut as a member of the American Athletic Conference. UTPA (4-9), in its first season in the Western Athletic Conference, suffered its fifth consecutive defeat. The Broncs were led by Javorn Farrell with 23 points and Shaquille Boga with 12. SMU entered the game first in the American in defense FG percetange (36.3%) and held UTPA to just 32.3% (20-62) shooting on the night. The Mustangs are currently ranked 13th in the nation in the category. The 17 points represented a season high for Kennedy, in his first season with SMU after transferring from Villanova.