Mustangs top Rainbows, Ross wins marquee match-up

The WAC’s top two scorers went toe-to-toe Saturday night at Moody Coliseum. For the first time in two years, senior guard Quinton Ross won both the battle and the war against opposing senior guard Carl English. SMU (12-9, 7-4) beat Hawaii (13-7, 6-6) 78-69 behind Ross’ game-high 27 points.

The first half was competitive. Both teams stood strong, taking whatever shot the opponent threw at them. The score was indicative of a defensive battle that was waged from the tip-off.

English nailed two three-pointers during a 10-2 run by Hawaii midway through the first half. The result was a 24-22 Warrior lead. The surge was capped by a highlight-worthy dunk by 5-foot-10 inch Jason Carter.

Ross responded quickly. He scored all the Mustangs’ points during an 8-4 run in the final 3:31 of the first half. SMU was able to go into the half with a 30-28 lead.

In the second half, the two teams continued to battle. The Warriors led by as many as six points before they began to unravel. Hawaii led 60-58 when sophomore center Eric Castro stepped to the free throw line.

Castor sank both shots, tying the game and starting an 18-9 run that would carry SMU to their first win against the Rainbows in four tries.

SMU out-rebounded the conference’s best rebounding team by a 36-25 margin, the most that any team had bested the ‘Bows on the boards all season.

“Hawaii got tired at the end there,” head coach Mike Dement said. “Rebounding is a physical thing and when you’re tired, you don’t get rebounds.”

Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace praised SMU for their job on the glass.

“[SMU] is athletic and they were going strong to the boards,” Wallace said. “But we were also shooting too many jump shots.”

The result of Hawaii’s tendency to settle for the jump shot was 30 SMU free throw attempts to the Rainbows’ 11. Officiating, however, was not at fault.

“I can’t argue about that,” Wallace said. “We were shooting jump shots and they were being the aggressors. They just beat us.”

English scored 21 points and snagged eight rebounds but had to watch as SMU put the game away at the free throw line.

English fouled out after playing 36 minutes. He was big for Hawaii throughout the game, making five of his first seven three-point attempts before missing two in the waning moments.

“Carl hit some shots for us early,” Wallace said. “But at the end, we weren’t running our offense. We were breaking down and becoming individuals.”

Dement knew that SMU’s chances increased when English was relegated to the bench, despite how late in the second half it was.

“I don’t care what point of the game it is, it helps when a player like Carl English fouls out,” Dement said.

Despite the 21 points and hot shooting, Ross did a good job of making English work for every shot.

“Quinton was great. He played 37 minutes and he was guarding English so hard all game,” Wallace said. “He worked so hard defensively, yet hit so many big shots at the end.”

Ross shot 9-17 from the field and 8-9 on free throws. He scored seven points in the final 3:08 of the game to helped wrap up SMU’s win.

“Ross took over the game and we had no answer for him,” Wallace said.

Ross’ teammates also rose to the occasion. Junior forward Kris Lowe had a perfect day from the field, going 3-3 from three-point range and 4-4 from the free throw line.

Sophomore forward Patrick Simpson notched another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. He also helped anchor the defense with two blocks.

“I think the key was actually defense,” Ross said. “We knew we had to come out with intensity and defend them because they run such a great offense.”