SMU Routs Western Carolina

By Andy Lohman, SMU

SMU men’s basketball bounced back from their first loss of the season in an emphatic way, bouncing Western Carolina by a score of 98-65 Wednesday night at Moody Coliseum.

The Mustangs set the tone early with a 13-0 run to start the game. Before the Catamounts were able to get a shot off, SMU was off to a 7-0 lead highlighted by two steals and two fast-break lay-ups from junior guard Jimmy Whitt Jr.

SMU was tenacious on defense, forcing 23 WCU turnovers, including 11 steals. Senior guard Nat Dixon had three takeaways of his own.

DALLAS, TX - NOVEMBER 14: Southern Methodist Mustangs forward Ethan Chargois (25) during the game between SMU and Western Carolina on November 14, 2017 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/DFWsportsonline)

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DALLAS, TX - NOVEMBER 14: Southern Methodist Mustangs forward Ethan Chargois (25) during the game between SMU and Western Carolina on November 14, 2017 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/DFWsportsonline)

“We played hard. We played much harder,” head coach Tim Jankovich said. “Not that we didn’t play hard the other night, but you’ve got to play harder than we played. I’m most interested in a mindset and a maturity and an understanding of what it’s going to take day in and day out to be successful.”

Whitt put an exclamation point on his 14-point night with a driving dunk in the midst of the 13-0 run, but it was senior guard Jahmal McMurray who led the Mustangs with a career-high 34 points.




McMurray had a ruthlessly efficient night, hitting 14 of his 17 field goal attempts, including five of seven 3-pointers.

“I don’t even think it was anything I saw in the game, it’s about prepping yourself before the game,” McMurray said. “I thank my teammates for getting me the shots and helping me out along the way tonight. I’m just thankful we got this win.”

The Topeka, Kansas native did a great job of creating his own shots, hitting step-back jumpers, laying it in after a euro step, and draining threes.

“He’s a unique player,” Jankovich said. “He’s a great scorer, but he does it a little unorthodox. He just has such a knack, he’s not necessarily a guy where you have to run plays, he can just find a way to score. He’s even quicker than he looks. But what he really has is a tremendous ability to get his own shot. And that’s kind of the definition of a great scorer.”

With a 20-point lead at halftime, it would have been easy to take the foot off the gas, but the Mustangs played hard throughout. In a one-minute span late in the second-half, McMurray hit three straight three-pointers to push the SMU lead to 32 points and put the game out of reach.

After the first three, Dixon poked a ball out of a WCU player’s hands to spur the McMurray fastbreak. Then on the next defensive possession freshman forward Feron Hunt pinned a block against the backboard, and sophomore forward Ethan Chargois pushed the ball forward to McMurray who drained his fifth 3-point field goal of the night.

“Just playing aggressive,” Chargois said of the Mustangs’ improved defensive performance. “Last game we didn’t feel like we got enough deflections. Talking as well.”

SMU improves to 2-1 on the season and turns its attention to a tough Lipscomb team at home on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.

“I’m happy for our guys, they needed this, we needed this,” Jankovich said. “We needed some confidence, we needed the ball to go into the basket to get guys to feel good and hopefully we can carry this forward a little bit.”



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