DMN Article

[SMU89]

This might have already been posted. If not, here is an article I believe was in the DMN today.

SMU gets quick start, rolls over Central Florida

11:27 PM CST on Wednesday, January 27, 2010

By KEITH WHITMIRE / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

UNIVERSITY PARK – On a night when SMU honored its bowl-winning football team at halftime, its basketball team made some noise of its own.

SMU scored the first 10 points of the game and coasted to a 65-43 win over Central Florida on Wednesday night.

Just 11 days after blowing a 24-point lead to UAB, SMU turned in its second straight blowout victory. This time the Mustangs built on a 25-point halftime lead.

"At halftime I didn't have to say it," coach Matt Doherty said. "Going into the locker room, the kids were saying, 'UAB.' We wanted to finish the job."

SMU (9-10, 2-3 Conference USA) won its third in a row and has momentum heading into Saturday's contest vs. Memphis.

The Mustangs shot more than 50 percent for the fourth straight game. Robert Nyakundi continued his shooting tear with 18 points. The forward was 4-of-5 from the field in the first half, all from 3-point range.

Point guard Derek Williams recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. It was the first points-assists double-double by an SMU player since Bryan Hopkins (12 points, 10 assists) in 2002 against TCU.

SMU shot 54 percent and made seven of 12 from 3-point range to lead, 41-16, at the break.

UCF (10-10, 2-4) was a dismal 6-of-21 from the field (28.6 percent) and made just one of eight from 3-point range in the opening half.

"We've been in that situation before, and we were not going to let it happen again," Nyakundi said.

Instead of watching the lead waste away in the second half, the Mustangs pushed it to 48-18 with 12:41 to play. UCF's 43 points were the second-fewest allowed by SMU since joining C-USA in 2005-06.