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SMU 69, San Jose State 59 (PonyFans.com game story)

Postby PonyPride » Fri Jan 05, 2001 2:06 pm

Image vs Image

<B>January 4, 2001, Moody Coliseum</B>

<I>Sasser leads methodical win over San Jose State, 69-59</I>

Senior guard Jeryl Sasser had perhaps his best game of the season to lead the SMU men’s basketball team (10-3 overall, 1-0 against Western Athletic Conference opposition) to a 69-59 win over San Jose State Thursday night.

Sasser hit 9-of-13 shots from the floor and drained all 10 free throws to finish with a season-high 28 points. In the process, he passed former SMU great Ira Terrell to move into fourth place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,719 total points.

“I just play to win,” Sasser said, “and whatever happens in the flow of the game happens. I know he was a great player, and I have much respect for him.”

Sasser soon should pass Jim Krebs (1,753 points) to move into third and Jon Koncak (1,784) for second place. At his current scoring pace of 18.3 points per game, Sasser would pass Gene Phillips to become the school’s all-time leading scorer in the Mustangs’ Feb. 15 game at Hawaii.

“He has a chance to get up there in a number of categories,” head coach Mike Dement said, “if he continues to play well and stays healthy.”

Sasser’s contributions against the Spartans were not limited solely to scoring. His six rebounds trailed only teammate DeWayne Floyd’s nine, he played smothering defense and he had a team-high seven assists. Two of those were spectacular: one was an off-balance 30-foot alley-oop lob across the court that forward Willie Davis grabbed and slammed home; the other came when Sasser weaved through the SJSU defense, pulled the ball back out to the top of the key and then whirled and whistled a pass through the Spartans’ outstretched arms and into the waiting hands of SMU forward Jibran Kelley for an easy lay-up.

The game was slow and methodical as the Spartans tried to put the brakes on the Mustangs’ up-tempo style, frequently running the shot clock almost all the way down before launching a shot.

“With this (San Jose State) team, we knew they’d be methodical and disciplined,” Dement said. “They ran the clock down and got some lay-ups — we’ve got to get better at that.”

Other than Sasser, the Mustangs were led by junior point guard Damon Hancock, who struggled from the field (hitting just 4-of-11 shots) and finished with 14 points, and Davis, who fought through a tender hamstring to finish with 11.

The Mustangs now welcome Hawaii to Moody Coliseum at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The Warriors eliminated SMU from last year’s WAC Tournament (and may well have cost the Ponies a bid in the NCAA Tournament) when they jumped out to an early 16-point lead and held on for an 87-82 win over SMU.

[This message has been edited by MustangMatt (edited 01-05-2001).]
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