No place like home for Mustangs
While most students spent the winter break at home with their families, the SMU men’s basketball team took to the road. The Mustangs (6-7, 1-2) are still searching for consistency as they near the halfway point of their season.
The ink was barely dry on the last final exams as SMU boarded a plane headed for North Carolina. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons were not gracious hosts, as they handed SMU its largest loss of the season, a 73-49 blowout.
Freshman guard Bryan Hopkins made the trip, but did not play. Hopkins, who won a starting spot prior to the season, was sidelined due to injury. His senior backcourt mate Quinton Ross was the only Mustang in double figures with 15 points.
SMU lost its next contest in the state of North Carolina, this time to Appalachian State, 85-67.
Since that point, Hopkins has gained momentum, and he and Ross have been one of few consistencies in the Mustang lineup. Other injuries have forced SMU to shuffle its rotation. Head coach Mike Dement has been forced to use seven different starting lineups.
We’ve been searching,” Dement said. “We’re still searching for who should be playing. That’s partly due to injury.”
After winning at home against Baylor, 66-58, the Mustangs got set to try their luck in Vegas. The 2002 Jim Thorpe Classic featured such competition as Louisville and Nevada-Las Vegas.
SMU pulled out a 64-63 win over Gardner-Webb in the first round, but lost to hometown favorite UNLV. In an unfortunate twist of fate, SMU lost by the same margin that allowed it to advance, 79-78. After defeating San Diego at Moody Coliseum, SMU moved to 5-5 and readied to open conference play, again on the road, to kick off a three-game trip.
Before the trip to Ruston, La., SMU had only established one thing, the scoring of Ross and Hopkins.
Dement credits Hopkins’ rise to something other than play-calling or shooting touches.
“He’s healthier,” Dement said. “He’s as close to healthy as he’s been since he’s been here. He’s beginning to play like we know he can play.”
Both Ross and Hopkins scored over twenty points (23 and 21, respectively), but Louisiana Tech was able to hold SMU to 36 percent shooting from the field and come away with an 89-77 victory.
From Louisiana, SMU traveled to Honolulu to face the Hawaii Warriors. Hawaii and SMU staged a memorable showdown last season in Dallas. Hawaii came out on top then and Carl English returned. English leads the WAC in points per game (20.1), trailed by Ross (19.6).
After scoring the first basket on a driving lay-up by Hopkins, SMU found itself on an island. Hawaii went on a 21-8 run en route to their 72-55 victory. Hawaii improved to 9-2 (2-1 WAC) while SMU dropped to 5-7 (0-2).
The Mustang win Saturday over San Jose State (79-72) marked the first conference win.
Dement said the road trip was too long and that the players and staff are glad to be home.
“It’s not much of a break for these guys,” Dement said. “It’s a busy time for them with having classes get started and preparing for Fresno State.”
Despite the record, which Dement says is seven losses from where they’d like it to be, the Mustangs have drawn many positives from their play.
“We’ve been a little more competitive,” Dement said. “We’ve just played on the road too much.”
Athletic sophomore Justin Isham has started in seven games and provided the Mustangs with solid play from shooting guard or small forward. Fellow sophomore, forward Patrick Simpson, is a legitimate double-double threat from his power forward position.
With WAC-leading Fresno State coming into Moody on Thursday, SMU hopes to start a habit of winning at home. Already 4-0 at home with nine out of 15 games taking place at Moody, the Mustangs have an opportunity to improve their conference standing.
“We’re the ones [in the WAC] with the most games away from our arena,” Dement said. “It’s good to be home.”
