SMU To Host Dallas Classic On Thursday
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As part of SMU’s ongoing effort to strengthen its relationship with the city, Dallas’ hometown team, the Mustangs, host the inaugural Dallas Classic at Ellis Davis Fieldhouse on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Ponies face Jackson State in the first year of the event held at the Dallas Independent School District’s 7,500-seat facility at 9191 S. Polk St., just south of I-20 between U.S. 67/Marvin D. Love Fwy. and Interstate 35E. Seven members of the SMU team are from the Dallas area: Cannen Cunningham (Arlington – Lamar HS), London Giles (Dallas – Kimball HS), Jalen Jones (Dallas – Kimball HS), Robert Nyakundi (Arlington – Bowie HS), Nick Russell (Duncanville – Grace Prep Academy), Jordan Walker (Arlington – Martin HS) and Shawn Williams (Duncanville – Duncanville HS). Ten of the top 22 scorers in SMU history are from the Dallas area; including Jeryl Sasser (Kimball HS), Quinton Ross (Kimball HS) and Ira Terrell (Roosevelt HS). Sasser is SMU’s all-time leading scorer with 1,992 points.
The Mustangs enter the matchup as winners in four of their last five games. SMU’s last outing was a 69-63 overtime win at Arkansas-Little Rock on Dec. 4. London Giles scored a career-high 19 points and Robert Nyakundi added 15 points, including nine after regulation. In the last five games, Nyakundi is leading SMU with 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 57.4 percent overall and 58.6 percent from 3-point range (17-of-29). Giles is averaging 13.6 points in the same stretch. For the season, SMU is holding opponents to 58.6 points per game (2nd C-USA, 39th NCAA) and just 40.9 percent shooting. On offense, SMU is leading Conference USA by hitting 7.9 3-pointers per game (50th NCAA).
