The SMU Mustangs orchestrated a second half comeback to beat the Yale Bulldogs 71-69 on Sunday afternoon at Moody Coliseum.

The Mustangs started forward Ben Moore, guard Sterling Brown, guard Keith Frazier, forward Markus Kennedy, and guard Nic Moore. Yale started guard Makai Mason, forward Justin Sears, guard Nick Victor, forward Brandon Sherrod, and guard Jack Montague.

The first half started out slow as neither team could get shots to fall consistently. The Bulldogs had spurts of streaky three-point shooting that, along with SMU turnovers, helped them build a lead. Mason had 16 points and 5 assists for Yale. Markus Kennedy’s passing and strong interior presence kept SMU in the game despite minimal production from his teammates. The Mustangs trailed 32-40 at halftime.

Sterling Brown came out aggressively in the second half, scoring 9 straight points to pull the Mustangs even. Brown finished with 11 points and was perfect from the field. Frazier and Justin Tolbert accounted for a large part of the scoring with Moore on the bench because of foul trouble.

SMU used a variety of defenders on Makai Mason in the second half to slow him down. Mason finished with 24 points and 7 assists but struggled to get open looks. Yale just did not have enough production from the bench to get the win.

The Mustangs shot 50 percent from the field but struggled from the three point line, only shooting 1-9. They held a 48-16 advantage in points in the paint. Both teams struggled from the free throw line, which almost proved to be costly for SMU late in the game. Five players were in double figures for SMU, including Brown, Kennedy, Keith, Moore, and Tolbert.

“We picked the energy up on defense in the second half,” said Tolbert. “That’s why we won.”

“It’s good for us,” said Coach Tim Jankovich when asked about the struggles early in the game. “It’s adversity. For whatever reason, we did not have the bounce in our step in the first half. We knew we could play better than that.”

SMU (3-0) will play Brown at home on Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3.