SMU Men’s Basketball Falls In OT At UTEP, 70-64 (with VIDEO)

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Men’s Basketball Falls In Overtime At UTEP, 70-64
Robert Nyakundi 3-Pointer At The End Of Regulation Ruled After Buzzer, Sends Game To Overtime

Jan. 14, 2012

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- John Bohannon scored six of his 20 points in overtime, helping UTEP keep two trends going with a 70-64 victory over SMU on Saturday night.

The game nearly ended in regulation when Robert Nyakundi hit an apparent buzzer-beating 3-pointer on a catch-and-shoot play that started with a half-second left. The officials reviewed the play and ruled the ball was not out of Nyakundi's hand as time expired.

Michael Perez added 16 points and Gabriel McCulley had 15 for the Miners (9-9, 2-2 Conference USA), who scored the first five points of overtime -- a McCulley 3-pointer and two Bohannon free throws -- and hit foul shots in the final minutes to secure the win.

Jalen Jones led the Mustangs (9-8, 1-2) with 12 points.

UTEP led 52-48 with 3:46 left in the second half, but a Ryan Manuel three-point play and a London Giles layup gave SMU the lead with 1:03 left. Perez tied it with a free throw with 48 seconds to play but missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

SMU returns home for its next game on Wednesday, January 18 against Houston. Tipoff at Moody Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at smumustangs.com/tickets.