Men's basketball rallies from 17 down to win, 65-64

by **PonyPride** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:34 pm

From SMUMustangs.com:

Late Heroics Lead Mustangs To 65-64 Win Over Florida Gulf Coast
Ryan Manuel Steal And Layup With 21 Seconds Left Caps 17-point Second-Half Comeback

Nov. 19, 2011

DALLAS (AP) -- Ryan Manuel's steal and layup with 21 seconds left capped a comeback from a 17-point second-half deficit, and SMU beat Florida Gulf Coast 65-64 on Saturday.

SMU had taken a 63-62 lead on a 3-pointer by Robert Nyakundi, whose 18 points and eight rebounds led the Mustangs (2-2), with 2:17 left. But Chase Fieler hit two free throws with 1:50 to play to put the Eagles (2-2) back on top.

Manuel then stole the ball from Sherwood Brown for the winning basket. The Eagles had two chances at the end, but Bernard Thompson and Brett Comer missed jumpers.

Jalen Jones added 15 points for the Mustangs. London Giles had 11.

Florida Gulf Coast led 49-32 with 15:28 left after a fast-break dunk by Dante Holmes, but couldn't hold the lead. The Eagles' Christophe Varidel led all scorers with 20 points, and Thompson added 11.

The Mustangs return to the hardwood Monday, Nov. 21 when they travel to Tulsa, Okla. to take on Oral Roberts in the [deleted]'s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

TEAM NOTES
- SMU was down 17 with 15:28 before going on a 33-15 run to finish the game
- Ryan Manual steal and lay-in to give SMU 65-64 lead with 16.3 seconds
- Third largest comeback in SMU history (17 points)
- Largest was 20 pts on Dec. 7, 1996 at Kent (74-68 final)
- Second was 18 pts on Jan. 2, 2003 against San Diego (88-82 in OT)

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Robert Nyakundi
- Tied his season-high in scoring with 18 points
- Has reached double digits in three of four games this season
- Was 4-6 on 3FG
- Is 4th all-time at SMU in 3FG made with 191
- Was 6-6 on FT
- Is now 11-13 on the season
- Tied his season-high with 8 rebounds
- Had a career-high 2 blocks
- Added 2 assists and 1 steal

Jalen Jones
- Scored 15 points
- Has reached double digits in three of four games this season
- Grabbed career-high 5 rebounds
- Added 2 steals and an assist

London Giles
- Scored 11 points
- Scored in double figures every game this season
- Had a season-high 4 assists
- Was 4-4 on FT

Ryan Manuel
- Scored career-high 8 points
- Was a perfect 3-3 on FG
- Grabbed career-high four rebounds
- Added an assist and a steal

Ricmonds Vilde
- Scored 5 points
- Had a career-high 5 rebounds

by **whitwiki** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:58 pm

Good to see the team show some.mental toughness

by **2ndandlong** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 7:59 am

This was awesome to see them right the ship! Go Mustangs!

by **Mestengo** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 8:23 am

Great job good win keepem coming!

by **Wuba** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 9:44 am

Fun game once we got past the first five minutes of the second half. Never seen moody empty so quickly after a win, everyone rushing to watch the football game.

by **smusic 00** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 10:31 am

Sorry I had to leave early. I like this team, but I think they will frustrate some fans, including myself, for a while.

by **lwjr** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:02 pm

Congrats to Coach Doh and the Mustang team. Nice win and nice comeback.

by **WildBillPony** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 5:49 pm

I like Jalen Jones the best of the new players

by **ponyscott** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 6:13 pm

WildBillPony wrote:I like Jalen Jones the best of the new players

So far me as well....he will rise to the top of this lineup.

by **hoopmanx** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 6:27 pm

Jalen has been great. He wears his emotions too, doesn't like to lose.

I'm going to say Manuel, if only b/c of the comeback yesterday. Jalen was great as well, but Manuel seemed pretty poised. Loved how he got into the lane going both directions. His length on D helps as well. A 6'4 PG that can get to the rim, makes everything easier

by **gostangs** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 6:57 pm

i think the additions in Dec will REALLY help this team. We get some inside help where we dearly need it.

by **smusic 00** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 7:32 pm

Agree about Jalen. Seems to have a good attitude. You can sense that he may be a leader of this team soon. At least, that's my read from watching 1.5 games.

by **PonyKai** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:19 am

It would have been really fun seeing the first few weeks with our upcoming elgibiles. I feel like things would have gone differently against this level of competition.

by **CalallenStang** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:17 pm

FGCU's run to the sweet 16 makes our comeback against them in 2011 look a little more impressive. Essentially the same players on their team this year.

by **GiddyUp** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:30 am

Forgot we played them