The SMU men’s basketball team (7-11, 1-4) will try for its second conference win of the season when it travels to face Conference USA foe Tulsa on Saturday.
SMU is riding a wave of momentum after capturing its first conference victory of the season in an overtime thriller over Central Florida last Saturday. The 69-67 victory broke the Mustangs’ six-game losing streak, which dated back to Dec. 30.
Senior guard Jon Killen turned in one of the Mustangs’ top offensive performances this season, scoring a career-high 28 points, dishing out seven assists and collecting six rebounds.
Killen was named Conference USA’s player of the week. He is the first SMU player to earn that distinction since Bryan Hopkins took the award in 2005.
“Jon’s growth as a player has been nothing short of remarkable,” said SMU head coach Matt Doherty. “I think as a sophomore nobody would have guessed that he would be where he is right now. Now he’s one of the better players in the league.”
“As long as I’m leading the guys the way I’m supposed to, making sure they’re in the right place and in the right defensive spots, then I’m doing my job,” Killen said. “Yeah, I’ve been scoring a lot lately, but that’s a reflection of my teammates’ effort.”
Killen and the rest of the Mustangs will also be motivated by revenge when they journey north to Reynolds Coliseum in Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane deafeated the Mustangs 72-71 on Jan. 20 at Moody Coliseum.
“The toughest thing as a coach is to have your guys invest themselves emotionally like that and lose,” said Doherty. “We told the guys that we’re not grading them on wins and losses, but on effort. But deep down the guys want to win.”
Since defeating the Mustangs on the Hilltop, Tulsa has done nothing but struggle. The Golden Hurricane is on a three-game losing streak, including overtime losses on the road to Marshall and at home to Texas-El Paso.
SMU’s biggest challenge will be replacing freshman post Papa Dia, who notched 18 points in the Mustangs’ first match up with Tulsa this season. Doherty has not completely ruled out Dia playing, but he says his team is prepared to play without him.
“We need guys to help Jon,” said Doherty. “If Papa isn’t playing, we need some other guys to step up and put the ball in the basket.”
Doherty is pleased with sophomore Cameron Spencer’s play, who has seen more playing time in Dia’s absence. Spencer contributed five points, four rebounds and two blocks against UCF.
Doherty has also been pleased by senior Derrick Roberts, who locked down UCF’s star, Jermaine Taylor, in the second half.
Outside of the Mustangs’ locker room, Roberts is known more for his offensive skills, but Doherty praised Roberts for his defensive prowess this season.
“Derrick’s defense has really stepped up,” said Doherty. “He’s a darn good defender.”
Doherty hopes that Roberts, Spencer and the rest of the Mustangs will step up Saturday as they did last Saturday against UCF and Tulsa.
“Our guys are feeling really confident,” said Doherty. “We’ve played well in two of our last three games.”
