Mike Walker sank two free throws with 2.2 seconds left, to seal the Mustang’s 69-66 win over Rice on Saturday night. With the victory, the Mustangs (8-17, 2-10) broke their eight-game Conference USA losing streak and handed the Owls (8-18, 3-9) their third straight loss.
“It was big,” said Doherty when asked about the importance of finally closing a game out for a win. “Sometimes we talk about playing well and letting winning take care of itself. But we needed to go in to win… we had to play with a high sense of urgency”
SMU looked efficient and in control at the beginning of the game, dominating Rice in rebounding and field goal percentage. The Mustangs used four straight points from Bamba Fall to get out to their first double-digit lead of the game at 25-14. However, as the second half got under way, it seemed as if there were two different teams on the court. After only two turnovers in the first half, SMU committed three within the first five minutes of the second half, spurring an 11-2 Rice run that gave the Owls their first lead since the opening moments of the game.
Fall and Walker combined for five points that seemed to break the Mustangs from their slump. In the closing minutes, Paul McCoy slashed through the lane for a layup, and made a 3-pointer moments later to keep the Mustangs out in front of a surging Owls squad.
In the final minute, Rice had two fast break opportunities that could have brought the Owls within one point of SMU, but Fall came up with two huge blocks to deny both attempts and preserved the win for the Mustangs.
“I just didn’t want them to get an easy layup,” said Fall. “I just went for it. I think that’s the way I should play. I should challenge every shot.”
Both teams relied heavily on the 3-point shot, as nearly half of SMU’s field goal attempts were from 3-point range. Walker and Robert Nyakundi combined to go 8-of-11 from behind the arc for the Mustangs. Rice answered in the second half, at one point shooting over 80 percent from the field, including 5-of-6 in 3-point shooting.
As the Rice’s shooting cooled down, the Mustangs stepped up their rebounding effort to limit opportunities for the Owls, allowing Rice only 4 offensive rebounds and 6 second chance points on the night. Conversely, SMU was able to capitalize on the offensive boards, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds and turning them into 11 points.
For the seventh time this season, the Mustangs had four players score over 10 points. Nyakundi and Walker led the team with 14 points each. Fall notched his third double-double of the season, grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with his 10 points. Rice’s Rodney Foster led all scorers with 18 points.
SMU will travel to UTEP on Wednesday for game at 8 p.m.
