SMU guard Derek Williams during play against Houston Bapitist Jan. 23 at moody Coliseum. SMU won the (SPENCER EGGERS/The Daily Campus)

The SMU men’s basketball team had a strong win at Tulane, 66-48, Saturday, boosting the Mustangs back to .500 with a 4-4 record in Conference USA and 11-11 overall.

“I’m so pleased to bounce back after a loss on the road to Southern Miss and play against a team like Tulane,” head coach Matt Doherty said in a post-game interview on smumustangs.com.

Derek Williams led the team with 18 points, scoring eight points in the first half as theMustangs went on a 21-2 run. Williams was also the high scorer in last year’s game against Tulane with 17 points.

The Mustangs expanded their lead throughout the first half, posting a 35-11 lead with just under five minutes remaining. It was at this point that SMU allowed the Green Wave to take off with a 10-0 run to close out the half.  In spite of Tulane’s rally, SMU held a 35-21 lead at the buzzer.

“I’m really proud of Derek,” Doherty said. “He goes for just under 40 minutes … and plays his tail off.”

In the second half, SMU maintained a fairly dominant lead. Although the Green Wave was within 8 points with 4:25 remaining in the game, all of their final 11 field goal attempts fell short. SMU’s offense and defense had a strong showing, as the team shot a near-perfect 19-for-20 from the free throw line, while also pulling down 41 rebounds compared to Tulane’s 17.

Papa Dia recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 16 boards, contributing to the Mustang’s 49 percent success rate from the field. Dia, also had a perfect night from the charity stripe, along with Williams, Robert Nyakundi, Mike Walker and Rodney Clinkscales.

Dia’s performance has him just four double-double’s away from tying with SMU alum Ike Ofoegbu, who had ten during the 2006-07 season.

Despite 20 turnovers, the Mustangs improved to 12-10 all time record against the Green Wave, after defeating Tulane in a 60-51 win last season in Moody Coliseum.

The Mustangs return to Moody Coliseum to host the University of Texas at El Paso Miners (17-5, 8-1) Wednesday evening.

“We’re tied for fifth in the league, in the top half of the league,” Doherty said. “I’m excited about that and we’ll have another great opportunity with UTEP.”