National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern Methodist 74, Connecticut 65
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 4, 2014
Where: Moody Coliseum, Abilene, Texas
Officials: # Rick Crawford, # Tom O'Neill, # Alfred Smith
Attendance: 7166


Southern Methodist 74, No. 15 Connecticut 65: Nic Moore matched a career high with 20 points and handed out six assists as the host Mustangs dealt the Huskies their second straight surprising loss in the state of Texas.

Nick Russell added 14 points and seven rebounds for SMU (11-3, 1-1 AAC), which won for the sixth time in seven games. The Mustangs, who entered Saturday ranked third in the country in field-goal percentage defense, held Connecticut (11-3, 0-2) to 36.7 percent.

Ryan Boatright scored 15 points while Lasan Kromah and Shabazz Napier contributed 12 apiece to pace the Huskies. DeAndre Daniels chipped in with 11 for Connecticut, which also lost its conference opener at Houston on Tuesday.

Moore tallied 15 first-half points, including 10 during a 17-6 surge, to help SMU establish a six-point advantage before Boatright sank a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to put Connecticut ahead by one at the break. The lead switched hands four times early in the second half until Keith Frazier knocked down a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 spurt and give the Mustangs a 47-41 advantage.

Napier drained a jumper to pull within three, but the Huskies went nearly five minutes without a field goal while Russell began to take over with nine points during a 16-7 run to stretch the Mustangs’ margin to 12. Markus Kennedy carried the offense thereafter, contributing eight of SMU’s final 10 points to seal the victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: SMU, which played in front of a home sellout crowd for the first time since 2001 following the completion of a $47 million renovation at Moody Coliseum, has won both all-time meetings between the schools. … Connecticut, which shot 46.5 percent beyond the arc during its season-opening nine-game winning streak, has converted 30.4 percent from the 3-point line ever since after going 5-for-16 Saturday. … The Mustangs have held 12 of their 14 opponents below 40 percent from the field.

Top Game Performances
 
Connecticut   Southern Methodist
Ryan Boatright 15 Scoring Nic Moore 20
Shabazz Napier 5 Assists Nic Moore 6
Lasan Kromah 6 Rebounds Markus Kennedy 8
Shabazz Napier 8 Free Throws Made Nic Moore 7
Ryan Boatright 3 Steals Cannen Cunningham 1
Amida Brimah 5 Blocks Markus Kennedy 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Connecticut 65 36.7 5-16 24-30 12 28 7 8 11
Southern Methodist 74 47.2 7-16 17-26 16 35 1 4 11