Mustang Duo Reach 1,000 Career Points in Win
DALLAS — Only 43 SMU players have eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in their careers. Two more joined that list in Thursday night’s 87-79 victory at Tulane.
Zhuric Phelps notched his 1,000 career point on a baseline floater late in the first half and Samuell Williamson scored his on the front end of a 1-and-1 with 69 seconds left in the game. They are the second and third players to reach 1,000 career points this season for SMU. Chuck Harris reached the mark earlier this season and currently has 1,303 career points.
“I’m really proud of both of those guys,” SMU coach Rob Lanier said in his postgame radio interview. “It’s a great moment for both of them.”
This career achievement almost didn’t happen for Phelps. In April 2023 he declared for the NBA Draft, but still maintained his collegiate eligibility. The next month he withdrew from the draft and returned to Dallas for his junior season. It’s a decision that’s been beneficial to both Phelps and the Mustangs. The Duncanville native now has 1,012 career points, all of which have been scored as a Mustang.
“It goes to show that in college basketball there are examples of guys who can stay at a place and get better and improve,” Lanier said.
Thursday night’s win was SMU’s fifth-straight victory, and the Mustangs are now 18-7 (9-3 AAC games). Phelps scored 19 points in the win (second to Harris’s 25) and had two rebounds and two steals. He’s averaging 14.6 points per game this season and 41 percent shooting average.
Williamson, a senior from Rockwall, Texas, is averaging 9 ppg and 7.6 rebounds per game. He also has 16 blocks and 27 steals this season.
SMU will try and extend its season-best five game win streak Sunday afternoon against Memphis. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. in Dallas where the Mustangs are 12-2 this season. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN and fuboTV and DFW-area fans can listen to game on KAAM-AM 770.
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