Home advantage has always made a difference for SMU Men’s Basketball team and they showed that as they took on East Carolina on Sunday at the Moody Coliseum.

The game, which featured many eye-opening plays and highlight clips, was a great spectacle to the crowd at the David B. Miller court. This was reflected in the shooting and assist stats for both teams, as SMU shot 50% in the game and ECU 46%. SMU had a 13-rebound advantage, and scored 20 second-chance points against ECU.

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The competitiveness and grit showed by the players in every game is very commendable, said SMU Head Coach Rob Lanier.

“This is a team that has been playing really hard and doing all the important things like rebounding and defending well,” he said. “Samuell Williamson created 4 offensive rebound attempts from free throws and that says a lot about the fight in the team.”

SMU went into the first half firing, and ended the half with a 7-point lead (35-28). The Even after the break, the Mustangs never looked back, and only expanded the lead in a second half that finished 51-42.

All five players in SMU’s starting lineup scored double-digit points, Zhuric Phelps (11points and 10 assists), Jalen Smith (10 points and 3 rebounds), Zach Nutall (11 points and 6 assists), Efe Odigie (18 points and 9 rebounds), and Samuell Williamson (20 points and 9 ). This is the 16th game Smu has started with this same lineup, including 10 of the last 11 games.

“I feel like the focus was up for the entire team today,” said SMU forward Efe Odigie. “At this point, we’re not looking at the record anymore, we’re just looking to be the best team we could be.”

Thus win means that SMU has now won 3 of its past 4 home games, and would be looking to take this form to its travels. SMU is now 10-18 for the season, 5-10 in the American Athletic Conference.

The Mustangs go to Tampa to play USF on Saturday for their next game on Feb 15.