HIGHLAND PARK, TX – It was another swell day at the office for this SMU team as they triumphed over Southeastern Louisiana at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas to take their win tally to three in four this season. This meeting was just the second between these two sides, the previous meeting having been a 74-43 SMU win in 1999. In this well-contested game, SMU was able to come out on top, winning the game with 78 points to Southeastern’s 61.
Consistent with what we’ve seen for most of this season, SMU got off to a blazing hot start in the first half, going on a 13-0 run and outscoring Southeastern Louisiana by 33 points (50-27). However, the team cooled down in the second half and were outscored 34-28, despite being able to hold on to the lead and see the game out.
“When you have a big lead like that, it’s human nature to let down, get complacent, which is not acceptable,” head coach Tim Jankovich commented after the game. “It was a disappointing second half, but it’s not all about the negatives, there are a lot of positive things. Defence, Rebounding, Transition play, the first half was exactly what we were looking for, but our offence shut down a little bit later on.”
After scoring a double-double in the last game against Northwestern State, 2020-21 All-AAC First Team guard Kendric Davis put on a show tonight, finishing with 25 points, 4 assists, and two steals while shooting 46% from the field. Displaying his dribbling, passing, and shooting ability, Davis was at the helm of every SMU offense on the night and was able to make things happen for himself and his teammates to secure the win for his team. “He’s a scorer, so he’s going to score and do his thing. He just tries to be aggressive, since the other team was being aggressive. He’s our go-to guy with the ball, and the ball is going to be in his hands. He just led the way for us and we followed his lead,” forward Tristan Clark said during the press conference.
Marcus Weathers proved once again why he is so valued by this SMU team, following up on his 22 point double-double against Northwestern State on Monday with another tonight, taking his career double-double tally to eighteen. Shooting an impressive 58.3% from the field and 50% from the three-point line, Weathers ended the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, he is 12th in the American Athletic Conference in both points and rebounds, and 8th in free-throw percentage – hitting an impressive 90.0% of his shots at the line.
This win takes SMU’s record to 3-1, with their AAC campaign poised to start on December 29th. SMU has won all three games at the Moody Coliseum, their home ground – the team’s only loss away to Oregon last week. SMU hopes to continue their impressive home record after the Jacksonville Classic when they play Sam Houston State University at Moody on the 24th of November.
SMU plays their next two games at the UNF Arena in the Jacksonville Invitational, playing Missouri on the 21st of November, and either Florida State or Loyola Marymount University on the 22nd of November.
The crowd tonight was honored by the appearance of Former President George W. Bush and his wife who was an SMU alumnus, Mrs. Laura Bush.
