Boopie Miller scored 28 points and B.J. Edwards added 20 as SMU defeated feisty Murray State 102-91 on Tuesday in a battle of undefeated teams in Dallas.
The Mustangs (3-0) led by seven points at halftime and by 18 at the first media timeout of the second half. Murray State shot its way back into the game, drawing to 71-65 on a pair of free throws by Javon Jackson with 10:26 remaining.
After SMU rebuilt the lead to 10 points, the Racers swung back, pulling to within six points again when Jackson canned a 3-pointer with 2:45 to play. But that’s as close as Murray State got as the Mustangs expanded the margin to 14 points on a layup by Jaron Pierre Jr. with 1:25 left.
Every SMU starter scored in double figures in the win. Pierre posted 19 points while Corey Washington added 17 points and 11 rebounds and Samet Yigitoglu had 11 points for the Mustangs.
Jackson led Murray State with 26 points. JJ Traynor added 14 points for the Racers (2-1), with Roman Domon scoring 11 and Fredrick King tallying 10.
The Mustangs opened the contest with an 11-2 run capped by Miller’s jumper just over three minutes into the first half. Miller’s ensuing 3-pointer put SMU up by double digits for the first time, but Murray State battled back, whittling its deficit to three points when Traynor converted a jumper with 7:16 to play until halftime.
SMU pushed the margin back to eight points on Edwards’ 3-pointer with 3:56 left and settled for a 49-42 lead at the break.
Jackson led all scorers before halftime with 15 points, while Edwards and Miller paced the Mustangs with 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Racers shot 50% over the first 20 minutes but committed seven turnovers and were outscored 22-16 in the paint.
SMU quickly expanded its lead to 18 points with a 16-5 run over the first four minutes of the second half.
–Field Level Media
