After two recent losses to #13 ranked Texas A&M and a tough opponent in Wisconsin, SMU got a much needed win against Louisiana Monroe on Sunday.
The 4-2 Mustangs welcomed ULM to Dallas for a game that Southern Methodist needed to get back on track. SMU came in as the favorite in the game, leading ULM in almost every major individual and team statistical category.
Unfortunately, the first half did not look the same. ULM ran SMU all over the court, and the Mustangs were absolutely bullied inside. ULM had 13 second chance points in the first half, 12 of which came in the paint off of offensive rebounds.
There was even one sequence where ULM forward AD Diedhiou got an offensive rebound, put it up, got his own rebound, put it up, got his own rebound and then finally got a foul call. Southern Methodist looked lost in the paint and on the glass.
"We rebounded much better in the second half. In the first half, we couldn't get a body on a guy and we were trapping the post, so we couldn't get out on transition," said G Chuck Harris.
Thankfully, just like they did against West Virginia at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, SMU overcame an early deficit and came out of halftime with some much needed intensity.
During his halftime speech to the team, SMU head coach Rob Lanier told media that he yelled, and even threw something for the first time during a halftime talk. Lanier said no one was harmed from the toss, but that Lanier was very impressed with his team's response.
"The rebounding was a direct correlation of the effort," said Lanier after the game.
After a back and forth first five minutes of the second half, the Mustangs went on a 27-13 run that put them back in the game, and back in the driver's seat.
Once they had the lead, Zhuric Phelps and SMU cruised to an easy win. The Mustangs found their three point shot in the second half, and they made their way to the free throw line an impressive 23 times in the latter half of the game.
With their fifth win of the season secured, SMU will look to build off of impressive games from Phelps, Samuell Williamson and Chuck Harris who all scored in double digits.
Top Performers:
Zhuric Phelps: 21 points, 2 assists, 2 steals
Chuck Harris: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Samuell Williamson: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist
SMU welcomes Dayton to Dallas on Wednesday for a chance to stack back to back wins and extend their hold on first place in the AAC. Tune into TDT Media on Wednesday for more SMU coverage and check out the rest of our sports coverage in the meantime!
(Photo credit via SMU Athletics)
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @Thirddownthurs
Facebook Page: TDT Media
Instagram: @MediaTDT
Follow MJ Hurley on Twitter @mjhurleytdt