Though a trio of SMU (12-11, 7-7 WAC) players scored nearly 20 points each, the men’s basketball team fell to the Toledo Rockets (13-11, 9-6 MAC), 78-67, Saturday in Ohio.
The Mustangs displayed the potent balance of youth and experience that had carried them to three wins in a row leading up to the road trip. Sophomore Devon Pearson, junior Bryan Hopkins and senior Eric Castro each netted 18 points in the loss.
Also this weekend, Castro was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (COSIDA) Academic All-District VI team for the third straight year, according to The Dallas Morning News. While averaging career-highs in points (14.4), rebounds (7.6) and assists (2.0), the forward also has a 3.8 grade point average.
Unfortunately, three strong offensive performances weren’t enough, as the rest of the team combined for just 13. In fact, aside from the trio of 18-point players, just two Mustangs garnered field goals; senior Justin Isham finished with 10 points, sophomore Christopher Reay had two and freshman Ike Ofoegbu was successful on one free throw.
Though the Rockets went ahead by as many as 10 in the first half, Pearson hit a lay up with just under 13 minutes to play, cutting Toledo’s advantage to 45-44.
Behind sophomore forward Florentino Valencia, however, the Rockets pulled away once again. Valencia scored each of Toledo’s next six points to push his team’s lead to 51-46. He and guard Keonta Howell each finished with 15 points.
Not long after, the Mustangs would pull back to within striking range. Consecutive lay ups from Reay and Castro left SMU down by just one, as the score stood 51-50 midway through the second half.
For the second time in as many tries, though, a one-point deficit was the closest SMU would get, as another offensive spurt from a Toledo player would help the Rockets increase their lead.
Senior guard Keith Triplett nailed three straight free throws and a field goal to put his team up, 56-50. Triplett went on to score a team-high 16 points while grabbing five rebounds and three steals.
Rounding out the list of double-digit scorers for the Rockets was guard Justin Ingram, who totaled 10 points and six assists.
Hopkins’ three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining was the last field goal for the Mustangs, who finished with a 39.3 shooting percentage and two points off the bench; by comparison, Toledo shot 54.2 percent while receiving a contribution of 32 bench points.
The team will travel to Idaho this Friday to battle the Boise State Broncos (12-15, 5-10 WAC). The game, which will be televised locally on KFWD Ch. 52, is set to tip-off at 8:30 p.m.
