The energy in Moody Coliseum on Saturday night for the Mustangs season opener was running high. The fans were ready to see the new freshmen players, the freshmen were ready for their first collegiate game, and the upperclassmen were excited for a new season.
Junior Bamba Fall started off the 2007-2008 season by winning the tip-off against Southern’s Joseph Jack, setting the tone for the first half of the game.
During the first half, the Mustangs looked like they might live up to even the loftiest expectations. Freshman Alex Malone had nine points, senior Jon Killen controlled the tempo, senior Derrick Roberts was hitting three pointers and freshman Papa Dia looked strong on both offense and defense.
Their stellar play in the first half gave the Mustangs a 29-20 halftime lead in which they led for almost 16 minutes of the half.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the second half of the game was completely opposite of the first half.
Alabama State came out of the half firing up three pointers and getting to the free throw line. In the second half, the Jaguars shot 73 percent (8-11) from behind the arc and knocked down 17-18 free throws.
In regard to shooting, SMU coach Matt Doherty said, “give [Southern] a lot of credit. That is the value of having juniors and seniors on the court. This is a team that went to the NCAA tournament two years ago.”
One of the reasons the Jaguars were able to shoot well with numerous open looks was the absence of Fall. Fall was limited to only 13 minutes of play due to foul trouble. He fouled out of the game with 10 minutes left in the second half.
When Fall went out of the game, the Mustangs clearly had trouble shutting down Southern’s penetrating guards who created open three point looks and multiple trips to the foul line.
The second half also featured a three-point shooting contest between the two teams that the Mustangs lost badly. SMU took 19 shots from behind the arc and sunk only four of them. This was a departure from their 44 percent mark in the first half.
After having a nine-point lead at halftime and at one point an 18-point lead, the Mustangs fell to the Jaguars by a score of 75-61. It is important to note that the Jaguars scored 10 unanswered points in the final 1:07 while the Mustangs fouled in a last-ditch effort to win the game.
After an emotional loss in the home opener on Saturday night, the Mustangs had to play another game on Sunday afternoon against the Alabama State Hornets. The Hornets won their first game against Paul Quinn.
The second game of the tournament was almost a polar opposite of the first game against Southern. SMU came out of the gate completely flat, while Alabama State looked ready for another game.
Playing a game less than 24 hours after their game against Southern was undoubtedly tough, but Alabama State was in the same position. In the first half, the Mustangs’ shooting woes continued with them shooting only 35 percent from the field with a 1-7 mark from downtown.
They lost the half by a score of 32-19 and could have easily given up at that point. To their credit, the young Mustangs continued fighting and cut the Hornets’ lead to four points in the opening five minutes of the half.
Alabama State’s senior leadership was able to hold of the run by the Mustangs and win the game by a final score of 64-54.
Unlike the game against Southern, SMU worked the ball inside to Fall and Dia. The ball worked through the post players in the second half and set up the entire offense. In spite of losing the game, the Mustangs won the half 35-32.
After the game, Doherty said, “I told the team I was encouraged. I measure success on our effort and if we are getting better as a team.” The Mustangs post players stayed out of foul trouble and therefore had a balanced scoring attack.
The Mustangs play again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at home against Centenary.
