Mustangs Fall to No. 17 Oklahoma in OT, 79-78
Dec 30 | Men's Basketball
Oklahoma City, Okla. (SMU) - SMU's hopes of upsetting the nation's 17th best team ended as Quinton Ross' three-pointer jumper rattled off the rim at the buzzer to give Oklahoma a 79-78 overtime victory and the Touchstone Energy All-College Tournament title. The Mustangs and Sooners battled in front of a crowd of 8,471 at the Myriad Arena in Oklahoma City Saturday night.
"I'm proud of how hard our guys fought tonight, making great plays to give us the lead in the second half and at the start of overtime," sixth-year head coach Mike Dement said. "We got the look we wanted - [Jeryl] Sasser I thought did an excellent job of drawing the defense to him and kicking it out to Ross, then we had a chance to tip in the rebound right at the buzzer."
Despite playing on a neutral floor, SMU (9-3) once again proved that they could control the big games in front of a hostile crowd.
Trailing 35-29 at the half, the Mustangs opened the second half with an 13-5 run, sparked by seven points from DeWayne Floyd, to take a 42-40 lead, then pushed it to a 10-point 57-47 advantage on Jibran Kelley's put back with 10:55 to play. But that's when Oklahoma (11-1) mounted its comeback with three-straight three pointers from Tim Heskett to cut the lead to two with 5:30 to play and trailed 71-70 on Daryan Selvey's two free throws.
Junior G Damon Hancock gave SMU a 72-70 lead with 22 seconds to play with one of two free throws but tournament MVP Nolan Johnson sent the game to overtime with a double-pump lay-up with six seconds on the clock.
Ross nailed a three-pointer off the opening tip and Willie Davis muscled in a bucket to give SMU a quick five-point lead in the extra frame, but SMU would score just one more point on a Davis free throw. Hollis Price pulled the Sooners to within one with his only three-pointer of the night, then Johnson made two free throws to end the scoring and set up Ross' last-second game-winning attempt.
"This team has become so competitive against the nation's better teams, but it is another thing to get over that hump and win against them," Dement said. "We need something to happen - like making that shot or getting the tip to fall at the buzzer."
The game, that featured 10 lead changes, began with the Mustangs' opening an early 12-8 lead. That then became a five-point 22-17 Sooner advantage with 10:42 remaining, but SMU utilized an 11-7 run over the next five minutes to take a 28-27 lead - its final one of the half. After the four straight lead changes, Oklahoma closed the first half with a six-minute 6-1 to take a 35-29 lead into locker room at the half.
The 29 first-half points by the Mustangs were a season low despite shooting 42.3 percent from the field (25 percent from behind the arch) and 50 percent from the line in the frame.
SMU had five started all scored in double-figures for the first time since doing it against Hardin-Simmons Nov. 20, 1999. Hancock led the way with 18 points, six assists and three rebounds, and Davis recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 boards despite playing 40 minutes with a pulled left hamstring. Sasser rounded out SMU's three all-tournament selection - playing the entire game with 13 points and six rebounds.
Floyd, who started his second game of the season with Mike Niemi out with a deep bone contusion on his left hand, scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Ross continued his five-game scoring streak with 14 points, three boards and two assists in 40 minutes.
The Mustangs will open their conference schedule next week when they host Western Athletic Conference foes San Jose State (Thurs., Jan. 4, 7:35 p.m.) and Hawaii (Sat., Jan. 6, 3 p.m.) at Moody Coliseum next week. Saturday's game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest to a regional audience.
All-Tournament Team
- Nolan Johnson, Oklahoma (MVP)
Jeryl Sasser, SMU
Willie Davis, SMU
Damon Hancock, SMU
Kelley Newton, Oklahoma
Mire Chatman, UT-Pan American
Official Basketball Box Score
Oklahoma Sooners vs SMU Mustangs
12/30/00 8:15 pm at The Myriad Arena (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
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VISITORS: Oklahoma Sooners 11-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 Griffin, Ronnie..... * 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5
05 Johnson, Nolan...... * 7-15 0-1 7-8 0 7 7 2 21 5 3 0 3 40
10 Price, Hollis....... * 5-14 1-5 0-0 1 2 3 3 11 8 4 0 0 42
13 McGhee, Aaron....... * 2-4 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 4 5 0 2 0 0 17
22 Newton, Kelley...... * 7-10 6-9 0-0 0 1 1 3 20 1 1 0 0 39
11 Raymond, J.R........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 9
14 Heskett, Tim........ 3-5 3-4 0-0 1 1 2 1 9 0 0 0 0 14
24 Selvy, Daryan....... 2-7 0-0 2-2 2 4 6 4 6 1 3 2 2 37
34 Heywood, Jameel..... 3-3 0-0 1-3 3 2 5 3 7 0 1 2 0 22
TEAM................ 4 4 1
Totals.............. 29-58 10-19 11-15 8 24 32 21 79 16 16 4 5 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-28 50.0% 2nd Half: 12-24 50.0% OT: 3-6 50.0% Game: 50.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 6-10 60.0% OT: 1-3 33.3% Game: 52.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 5-6 83.3% OT: 2-4 50.0% Game: 73.3% 1
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HOME TEAM: SMU Mustangs 9-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 Hancock, Damon...... * 7-11 1-1 3-4 0 3 3 2 18 6 4 0 2 44
05 Sasser, Jeryl....... * 5-19 2-8 1-2 2 4 6 1 13 1 2 0 1 45
13 Ross, Quinton....... * 3-8 2-3 6-6 1 2 3 2 14 2 1 1 0 40
34 Davis, Willie....... * 5-11 1-3 5-7 4 7 11 5 16 1 2 1 1 40
43 Floyd, DeWayne...... * 5-8 0-1 3-3 1 4 5 4 13 0 3 0 1 37
23 Atkins, Lavardicus.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
24 Lowe, Kris.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
33 Kelley, Jibran...... 1-1 0-0 1-4 1 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 9
54 Forinash, Jon....... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 6
Team................ 1 1 2 1
Totals.............. 26-58 6-16 20-28 10 24 34 17 78 10 13 3 5 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3% 2nd Half: 13-24 54.2% OT: 2-8 25.0% Game: 44.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% OT: 1-1 100 % Game: 37.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 14-16 87.5% OT: 1-2 50.0% Game: 71.4% 6
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Officials: Bob Sitov, Mike Thibodeaux, Eddie Jackson
Technical fouls: Oklahoma Sooners-None. SMU Mustangs-None.
Attendance: 8471
Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total
Oklahoma Sooners.............. 35 37 7 - 79
SMU Mustangs.................. 29 43 6 - 78
All-Tournament: Sasser, Hancock, Davis.
