Mustangs subdue Spartans in second half

The SMU basketball team overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the San Jose State Spartans 82-69 at Moody Coliseum Thursday night.

The Mustangs (11-9, 6-4 WAC) came out to a 14-4 lead, but the Spartans countered with a 9-0 run to bring the Ponies lead to one. With deadly aim from the three-point line, San Jose took a 40-30 lead into the half.

SMU allowed the Spartans to shoot 83 percent from beyond the arch in the first half.

“We are the worst 3-point defending team in the nation,” head coach Mike Dement said.

Senior guard Quinton Ross agreed with his coach.

“They got whatever they wanted in the first half,” Ross said.

Dement decided to start Brian Miller and Bobby Aitkenhead over starters Bryan Hopkins and Justin Isham in the second half.

When asked the reason for starting Miller and Aitkenhead in the second half, Dement said, “We were just searching for something that would work.”

Aitkenhead responded with five points and an assist in only six minutes of playing time.

Aitkenhead, a native of Guatemala, is a walk-on sophomore who was eager to contribute.

“I had been waiting for this opportunity my whole life,” Aitkenhead said. “The coaches asked me to go out there and give the team some energy. That’s what I tried to do.”

Ross exploded for 18 points in the second half. It was his three-pointer with 10 minutes left that gave the Mustangs the lead for the first time since 6:13 remaining in the first half.

Ross’s three-pointer spurred an 18-0 run which sealed the deal for the Ponies.

The Mustangs shot 64 percent from the field and 75 percent from the 3-point line to outscore the Spartans 52-29 in the second half.

The Ponies also had an SMU-record 13 blocks against an undersized San Jose team. However, sophomore center Eric Castro said that Dement is not impressed by the statistic.

“Coach always tells us that blocks are the last line of defense,” Castro said. “With a good defense you don’t need blocks.”

Although not the type of win the Mustangs would have liked going into Saturday’s contest against the Hawaii Warriors, Dement was happy with the way the team finished the game.

At the same time he insists that the team needs to play 40 minutes of good basketball to come out with a win against the Warriors.

SMU is scheduled to take on the Warriors at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.