Prairie View A&M pushed SMU early, but the Mustangs’ 59-point second half lifted them to a 110-69 victory on Monday night in Dallas.
SMU (4-1) shot 48.8 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Matt Cross came off the bench to deliver 17 points, 12 rebounds and two steals, as SMU topped 100 points for the second time this season. Teammate Chuck Harris also had 17 points.
Tanahj Pettway led Prairie View A&M (1-3) with 20 points. Braelon Bush added 14 points.
Nick Anderson got the Panthers started early, opening the game with a two-handed dunk and adding a 3-pointer. Prairie View A&M extended its lead to 12-5, prompting SMU head coach Andy Enfield to call a timeout just 3:05 into the first half.
Enfield removed all five starters, and the reset proved beneficial. SMU began pushing the ball in transition went on its own 16-2 burst, with Harris and Keon Ambrose Hylton scored six points each along the way. The run put the Mustangs ahead 21-14, and they led for the remainder of the half.
Prairie View A&M remained in contention, however, trimming the SMU lead back to two, 29-27, on Chauncey Gibson’s lone 3-pointer of the game, with 8:54 left . Gibson finished with 11 points.
Shortly thereafter, SMU went on an 8-2 burst and led 51-46 at the half.
The Mustangs raised their intensity in the early minutes of the second half. An opening 7-0 spurt in the first three minutes, capped by Jerrell Colbert’s offensive rebound putback, pushed the advantage to 12. SMU soon put up a 14-7 run to lead 72-53 with 12:10 left in the game.
SMU closed strong, sealing its highest-scoring performance of the season with a 17-7 run over the final 5:01.
–Field Level Media
