SMU men’s basketball (12-3) defeated South Florida (7-8) in the waning hours of 2017, winning 79-39 Sunday night.

The game started ugly. Midway through the first half, the score was just 9-5 in favor of the Mustangs. Both teams struggled shooting the ball and were plagued by turnovers.

But at the end of the first half, SMU pulled away. The Mustangs went on a 12-3 run to close out the half and went into the break with a 28-16 lead.

In the second half, SMU really turned it on. In the period’s first eight minutes, SMU scored 26 points and USF scored just one. The Mustangs coasted to a win the rest of the way.

Overall, it was a dominant defensive performance by the Mustangs. The Bulls scored a total of 39 points on an abysmal 28 percent shooting. They also coughed up 21 turnovers.

This game was a unique opportunity for SMU guard Jahmal McMurray. McMurray transferred to SMU from USF and scored 12 points against his former team.

Four Mustangs scored in double digits; Shake Milton led the way with 14 points. Jarrey Foster scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds.

The lopsided margin also gave Tim Jankovich a chance to give Milton some rest. The junior guard has played the full 40 minutes five different times this season, most recently in the previous matchup against UCF. Sunday night, he played just 26 minutes.

SMU will continue conference play with a road matchup with Tulane Thursday night.