Ponies rule OT, beat Nevada
Sophomore guard Justin Isham fueled a second-half rally that pushed the Mustangs to an 86-76 overtime win over Nevada on Saturday night.
SMU (7-8, 2-3 WAC) fell behind late in the first half and the Wolfpack (8-8, 3-3) took a 31-25 lead into the half. Nevada shot 6-13 from three-point territory in the opening period.
The second half started out much the way the first half ended. Nevada jumped out to a 50-40 lead with about 10 minutes to play.
Isham, in an apparent verbal battle with Nevada guard Todd Okeson, scored seven points in the Mustang rally, including a spectacular spin move that he finished with a one-handed floater in the lane.
Okeson made five of his eight three-point attempts, but was unable to contain Isham in the Mustangs’ run. SMU outscored Nevada 29-19 to end regulation.
The Mustangs tied the game at 64-64 with 2:57 on a turnaround jumper from the baseline by freshman guard Bryan Hopkins. SMU went on to take a four-point lead with a minute left.
Nevada took advantage of late SMU miscues to tie the game with 20 seconds left. With the score tied, SMU took the ball out. The inbounds pass went to Isham, who tried to get the ball to freshman guard Bryan Hopkins.
The pass was intercepted and Nevada took a time-out to set up the final play. Nevada forward Snyder missed a shot in the lane and the contest went into overtime.
SMU set a school record by scoring 17 points in the extra session. Hopkins and sophomore forward Patrick Simpson made the plays that would put SMU ahead for good.
Simpson had two blocks and three rebounds in overtime. His four free throws helped seal the SMU victory.
All of Hopkins’ 15 points came in the second half and overtime.
“Hopefully, this will be a good foundation to turn our WAC record around,” Hopkins said. “Just come back and build off this, just stack up some wins. Hopefully we can steal a few games on the road, and we’ll be all right.”
The entire starting five for SMU scored in double figures for the first time this season. Senior guard Quinton Ross led the attack with 17 points.
The Mustangs are now 3-0 in overtime games this season, breaking the school record for overtime wins in a season and tying the mark for overtime games played in a single season.
SMU also improved to 5-1 in Moody Coliseum, their only loss coming to WAC-leading Fresno State.
SMU takes to the road again on Thursday, when they will face Rice. The game will be televised at 7 p.m. on FoxSports Southwest.
