Coming off a one-stroke victory over runners-up Tulsa and Kent State at the Louisiana Classic earlier this month, the men’s golf team traveled to Pinehurst, N.C. Monday, looking to seal consecutive first-place finishes for the first time this year.

Thanks to cool play under pressure by sophomore Colt Knost, the Mustangs did just that, edging the Xavier University Musketeers, 875-876, for their second one-stroke win in a row.

Knost clinched the victory for SMU when he made good on a 30-foot putt on hole No. 18, giving him a score of 69 for the final round. His shot also gave him a three-round tally of 210, just enough to overcome Indiana Hoosier Jeff Overton’s 211 for medalist honors.

“Actually I was trying to two-putt it,” Knost explained, “so I could force a play-off with [Overton].”

Knost exceeded his goal, however, as the shot dropped to give the Mustangs their third win of the year.

“It was pretty clutch,” said junior Will Dodson, who, along with senior Scott Abbott, shot a 219 to claim a fifth-place tie.

“It came down to just one shot,” he continued, “which is pretty amazing when you’re playing collegiate golf.”

Following the Mustangs’ second straight win, momentum is riding high among players.

Knost said that each team member is “playing really well” heading into next week’s Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, where he said the University of Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma State University Cowboys will provide the main source of competition for SMU.

“We just need to play our own game,” he said. “We seem to get in trouble every time we play [UT or OSU] by focusing on them.”

The team tries for its third win in a row when the tournament tees off Monday, Apr. 4 in Austin.