SMU junior guard Rodney Clinkscales scored 17 points and went a perfect 5-5 from three-point land, but his efforts were not enough to stop Arkansas Little Rock from defeating the Mustangs 57-47 in SMU’s home opener.
“It was obviously disappointing, but the good thing about basketball is we don’t have to wait a week and we have more than 11 games,” SMU head Coach Matt Doherty said. “I’m disappointed, but I’m not discouraged.”
Clinkscales delivered big baskets in the first half after coming off the bench and ignited the Mustangs with his stroke from beyond the arc. The junior hit just over 40 percent of his three-point shots last year to lead the team. Clinkscales was the only SMU player in double figures.
Senior forward Papa Dia scored six points, grabbed 12 rebounds and recorded three blocks for the Mustangs who never found any consistent offense and blew a nine- point halftime lead.
“Papa [Dia] has to be a little bit more patient and trust the offense, and good shots will show up,” Doherty said.
As a team, the Mustangs missed 22 three point shot attempts and shot an atrocious 27 percent from the floor going 13-48.
The Mustangs led by 11 points with 18:49 left until Trojan guard Solomon Bozeman scored some late baskets that helped Arkansas Little Rock finish the game on a 36-15 run.
“It was a weird second half,” Doherty said. “I do not know if I have ever been on a team that has shot 18 percent in the second half, and the thing that I told my team that we are going to have to get used to is playing with the lead.”
Bozeman, a South Florida transfer, finished the game with 17 points to lead the Trojans.
Arkansas Little Rock’s big men stayed busy underneath and dominated the paint as forwards Courtney Jackson and Eric Kibi both scored 11 points a piece.
After a free throw by guard Mike Walker at the 11:06 mark, SMU failed to score for more than eight minutes, until Clinkscales hit a 3-pointer with three minutes left in the game.
“We made some mistakes and they took advantage of it, and all of a sudden the momentum swung in their favor and we never got it back,” Doherty said.
The Trojans took their first lead of the second half 42-40 with 7:12 remaining in the game following a Jackson jump shot. Arkansas Little Rock never surrendered the lead and dampened the hopes of the SMU home crowd.
Freshman point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas concluded his debut as SMU’s starting point guard with eight points and two steals, but failed to dish out any assists and turned the ball over four times.
“Jeremiah [Samarrippas] is a very exciting player who is very confident,” Doherty said. “The kid is a winner. He’s not afraid, but the thing he has to understand is do not go to fast, do not get caught up in the moment and make better decisions with the basketball.”
The Mustangs will travel to Fort Worth on Tuesday to take on TCU. Last season, the Mustangs were defeated by the Horned Frogs 60-53.
“It is frustrating to lose no doubt,” Doherty said. “Fortunately we have a game on Tuesday and we are going to be fine.”
Upcoming games:
11/16- v. TCU 7:00 p.m. @ TCU
11/19- v. Portland 3:00 p.m. @ SMU
11/20- v. U.C. Riverside 5:30 p.m. @SMU
11/21- v. Lamar 7:00 p.m. @ SMU
11/24- v. Wayland Baptist 7:00 p.m. @ SMU
11/28- v. Central Arkansas 2:00 p.m. @ SMU
