For the second time during the 2011-2012 school year, SMU has scored a victory against cross-town rival TCU in a major collegiate sport. The football team upset the Horned Frogs back in October and now the men's basketball team followed suit by beating TCU, 68-62, on Wednesday, February 8 at Moody Coliseum. This marks the first time SMU has beaten TCU in both football and basketball since the 2005-2006 school year.
It was an evenly matched game between the two rivals - the score was tied at the half at 37 and there were eight lead changes. Both teams had four players with double-digit point totals and neither team had a player with more than 10 rebounds. The Mustangs were able to edge the Horned Frogs in three-pointers and rebounds and that narrow margin proved to be the difference in victory and defeat.
Senior Robert Nyakundi led all scorers with 17 points, but he had plenty of scoring help from London Giles (14), Jeremia Samarrippas (10) and Aliaksei Patsevich (10). As a team, the Mustangs shot a blistering 52.1-percent from the field and 45.8-percent from beyond the arc.
TCU was led by J.R. Cadot, who scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Amric Fields (12), Garlon Green (12) and Hank Thorns (11) also played significant roles. TCU was able to keep pace with SMU in the first half but their shot percentages decreased in the second half; the Horned Frogs shot 56.5-percent from the field in the first half but only 37.5-percent in the second. Even worse, they shot 53.8-percent from the three-point line in the first but fell to 14.3-percent in the second.
The Mustangs will next travel south to play the Rice Owls on Saturday, February 11 at 7:00 p.m.
Photos courtesy of Rob Graham