Stan Sheriff Center Showdown: SMU Mustangs Narrowly Edged by Hawai'i Warriors
In a closely contested game at the Stan Sheriff Center, the Southern Methodist University Mustangs were narrowly defeated by the Hawai'i Warriors with a final score of 58-57. The Mustangs now hold a record of 0-1, while the Warriors improved to 1-0.
The SMU Mustangs started strong, leading at halftime with 31 points against the Warriors' 22. However, despite maintaining their lead through much of the second half, they were ultimately overtaken as the Warriors rallied to score 36 points in that period. The game saw three lead changes and was tied once, indicating how competitive it was from start to finish.
The Mustangs demonstrated solid offensive efforts inside the paint with an impressive total of 40 points in that area. They also capitalized on turnovers, scoring 15 points off their opponents' mistakes. Despite these efforts and leading for most of the game, they fell short by just one point.
On defense, SMU recorded three blocks and five steals but committed a high number of personal fouls totaling 23 for the game which may have contributed to their narrow loss. Their defensive rebounding was strong as they collected a total of 25 defensive rebounds.
Offensively for SMU, two-point attempts were made at nearly half success rate (48 percent), while field goal percentage stood at approximately 44 percent overall. From beyond the arc, they managed to convert four out of thirteen attempts which translates into about a 31 percent success rate from three-point range.
The Hawai'i Warriors showed resilience in their comeback victory over SMU. They put up ten fast break points and scored six second-chance points throughout this contest. Their free throw accuracy proved crucial as well; hitting twelve out of sixteen attempts gave them an edge over SMU's performance from the line.
Looking ahead for fans of Southern Methodist University basketball team: The next challenge will be against Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Moody Coliseum in Dallas on January first at eight o'clock Eastern Time (7 PM Central). This encounter can be viewed nationally on ESPNU channel two hundred eight where supporters can cheer on their team from afar.