National Basketball Association
Houston 90, Southern Methodist 79
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 7, 2019
Where: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
Officials:
# Joe Lindsay, # Don Daily, # Ted Valentin
Attendance:
7039
By Field Level Media
Seniors Corey Davis Jr. and Breaon Brady combined for 33 points on Senior Night as 12th-ranked Houston clinched a share of its first regular-season conference championship since 1992 with a 90-79 victory over visiting SMU on Thursday.
The Cougars (28-2, 15-2 American Athletic Conference) bounced back from their first home loss in two years by shooting 12 of 29 on 3-point attempts and outflanking the short-handed Mustangs (13-16, 5-12).
SMU, ravaged by injuries, dropped its fourth consecutive game and has lost 9 of 10.
Davis scored 17 points and sank four 3-pointers while Brady added 16 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Galen Robinson Jr. paired 11 points with five assists for Houston, which secured the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament at FedEx Forum in Memphis next week.
Junior guard Armoni Brooks led the Cougars with 20 points, hitting 6 of 10 3-point tries, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Houston finished 19-1 at home.
SMU produced a valiant effort but could not overcome an 11-0 Houston run that stretched the deficit to 57-40 early in the second half. Davis followed a four-point play with a 3-pointer to cap that rally and put the Mustangs in chase mode.
Jahmal McMurray led SMU with 24 points while Ethan Chargois scored 21 and Isiaha Mike 15 with a team-high six rebounds.
The Mustangs offset their brilliant first-half shooting with 13 turnovers prior to the intermission. SMU shot 68.4 percent from the floor, including a scorching 7 of 10 beyond the arc, but the Cougars first established a 27-16 lead on a Nate Hinton jumper at the 8:47 mark and maintained a working margin for the remainder of the half.
Houston converted those SMU turnovers into 21 points and posted a plus-13 advantage on shot attempts before the break.
The Mustangs' lack of depth enabled Houston to produce a 16-0 advantage in first-half bench points. Yet, despite these disadvantages. SMU strung together 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, two from McMurray, and trailed 46-37 at the half. McMurray had 15 by the break.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Southern Methodist |
|
Houston |
Jahmal McMurray 24 |
Scoring |
Armoni Brooks 20 |
Nat Dixon 3 |
Assists |
Galen Robinson Jr. 5 |
Isiaha Mike 6 |
Rebounds |
Armoni Brooks 10 |
Isiaha Mike 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Breaon Brady 2 |
Ethan Chargois 1 |
Steals |
Galen Robinson Jr. 2 |
N/A |
Blocks |
Armoni Brooks 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Southern Methodist
|
79 |
52.2 |
10-19 |
21-26 |
10 |
22 |
0 |
4 |
15 |
Houston
|
90 |
53.1 |
12-29 |
10-14 |
19 |
32 |
2 |
6 |
11 |