SMU sophomore Jalen Jones scores 10 points against the Memphis Tigers on Jan. 21, 2012. He scored 23 points in the game against TCU Thursday evening. (AP)
The SMU Mustangs remain undefeated after last night’s game with cross-town rival Texas Christian University (TCU) by holding off the Horned Frogs’ last minute surge – putting the game away 64-61 in Fort Worth.
SMU men’s basketball team, coached by the much-vaunted Larry Brown, played for the vast majority of its shots inside the paint – a departure from last year’s emphasis on the 3-pointer.
Jalen Jones, the 6-foot-6-inch 210-pound sophomore out of Dallas, led the team with 23 points. He was .500 shooting from the field, and was four for five when shooting from outside the perimeter. In addition to his massive scoring run in the game, Jones flirted with a double-double, tallying nine rebounds. Jones’ supporting cast included guard Ryan Manuel with 16 points and three assists, and Nick Russell, who had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Mustangs.
This win continues the run of success the Mustangs have had against the team they share the DFW Metroplex with. One of the few wins the Mustangs had last year came against the Horned Frogs in a close game in Highland Park when former head coach Matt Dougherty and company beat TCU 68-62.
Aiding the Mustangs in its win against the team’s first Big 12 opponent of the season was the poor marksmanship by TCU snipers from outside the three-point line. TCU was 3-11 outside of the perimeter, and 25-51 from within.
The Horned Frogs lost a large piece of its offense when junior point guard Amric Fields, who averages eleven points for his squad, was helped off of the court after injuring his right leg only 12 seconds into the competition.
The Mustangs team had to overcome its youth to top TCU. The Mustangs make up one of the most youthful teams on the court in the NCAA this season. All eligible players total just eleven seasons of play between them. The Mustangs will be aided in this department next year when transfers Nic Moore, formerly of Illinois State, Markus Kennedy, a 6-foot-9 inch sophomore from Villanova and Crandall Head, a junior transfer from Illinois.
The victory puts the Mustangs on top of the Horned Frogs and leads the series 103-85. The two schools have played each other regularly since the 1918-1919 season.
Brown, the only coach to win both an NBA and an NCAA title, hadn’t coached on the college level in more than two decades until SMU won its season opener 73-58 over Loyola Marymount Sunday.
