Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 22 points, all but four of them after halftime, as SMU defeated slumping Notre Dame 89-81 on Tuesday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game in Dallas.

SMU (17-7, 6-5 ACC) led by six points at halftime after an 18-point first half by Boopie Miller and 57.1% shooting from the floor. The Fighting Irish owned the first five minutes of the second half and swept to a brief lead before the Mustangs swung back with 14 straight points as part of a 19-2 run that netted it a 64-50 advantage with 10:46 to play.

Notre Dame (11-14, 2-10) responded, drawing to 76-70 after Logan Imes’ fast break layup with 4:42 left. But that’s as close as it would get as SMU added to the margin with a driving layup by Corey Washington and three free throws by Pierre and strolled to the finish line.

Miller finished with 20 points while Washington had 14 and Samet Yigitoglu racked up 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Mustangs, who have won two games in a row.

Notre Dame’s Jalen Haralson led all scorers with 23 points. Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa had 16 each and Brady Koehler hit for 11 points for the Fighting Irish, who have dropped five straight games and are tied at the bottom of the ACC standings.

The Mustangs led by as many as 10 points early on before Notre Dame chipped away and a free throw by Shrewsberry with 3:01 left in the half tied the game at 34-34. SMU built the lead back to six points when Miller produced six straight points, the latter a 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining. The Mustangs finished the half with a 43-37 lead.

Miller’s 18 first-half points led all scorers. It included a 6-of-7 showing from the floor and making all four of his jumpers from beyond the arc. Haralson paced the Fighting Irish with 10 points at the break.

Notre Dame took the lead on Carson Towt’s layup with 15:54 to play and was up 48-45 after Shrewsberry made a 3-pointer 46 seconds later. SMU went on its run shortly after.

–Field Level Media