Mustangs’ Season Ends in First Round NIT Loss
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – SMU was faced with a tough challenge in its first round NIT matchup against No. 1 seed Indiana State. The Sycamores, NBA legend Larry Bird’s alma mater, had won 28 games and was playing on its home court where it had lost only once all season.
“It’s a great crowd, great environment here,” SMU coach Rob Lanier said in his postgame radio interview.
The Mustangs, viewed as the underdog, nearly pulled off the upset. They never trailed in the first half and built a 49-40 halftime lead. The Mustangs extended that lead to 15 points less than two minutes into the second half.
It was SMU’s largest lead of the game, but it didn’t last. Indiana State did it’s best Bird impersonation and couldn’t be stopped. They went on a 12-0 scoring run halfway through the second half and never stopped scoring until final buzzer sounded with the score at 101-92.
“In first half, I thought we did good job defending them relative to how difficult they are to guard,” Lanier said. “In the second half, we just couldn’t guard them without fouling.”
SMU had four players score double digits, but none were as hot from the field as Indiana State’s Jayson Kent. Kent made all but one of his shot attempts (11-for-12, 2-2 3PT), scoring 35 total points and grabbing nine rebounds in the victory.
Ja’Heim Hudson, who made his first start of the season Wednesday, and Zhuric Phelps each had 21 points for the Mustangs, Chuck Harris had 19 and Tyreek Smith had 11. Phelps also had a team-high seven rebounds.
“The zone [defense] threw us off. We weren’t great against the zone,” Lanier said. “Then [Indiana State] really got cooking in the second half.”
Indiana State’s Ryan Conwell added 25 points while going 8-of-11 from the floor, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and 5-for-7 from the line. Xavier Bledson went 6 of 9 from the field (2-for-5 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points.
Indiana State will face Minnesota in the second round of the NIT. The Gophers upset No. 4 seed Butler in the first round, 73-73.
While not the ideal season ending for the Mustangs, it’s the second-straight 20-win season for them. But the competition is about to significantly improve. SMU will join the ACC this summer and a 20-win season in that conference is undoubtedly more impressive to the NCAA selection committee.
