Sasser Sinks Navy, 66-64
Dec 9 | Men's Basketball
Annapolis, Md. (SMU) - Senior G Jeryl Sasser scored his only points of the second half on a running jumper with three seconds left to help SMU escape with a 66-64 win over Navy at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md., Saturday afternoon.
"There wasn't a specific set play for me, but my guys did a great job of getting me a clear look at the basket," Sasser said of his game-winning shot. "I stole that shot from my brother [Jason Sasser]. He's perfected it and I've been working on it - but I felt good about it going in once it left my hands."
Sasser finished the game with 12 points for SMU (5-1) after scoring 10 in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting, and added three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Junior G Damon Hancock led all scorers with 17 points (nine from behind the three-point arch), while senior G/F Willie Davis chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Davis, who didn't have a field goal until 9:52 remaining in the second half, scored nine of the Mustangs' final 16 points against the Midshipmen (4-4).
SMU led most of the way, but could not protect it for the second straight game. Scott Long hit two free throws to give Navy a 62-61 lead with 3:13 remaining - its first of the game since 3-2 - then tied it at 64-64 on his only jumper of the game with :24 on the clock following Hancock's three-pointer to set up Sasser's heroics.
"We have a balanced team and had a lot of players score for us today," Sasser said. "We have to learn to play better with a lead and control the game when we're ahead to take this program to the next level. We can't keep letting teams back in the game when we have a chance to put them away."
Trailing 3-2 in the opening minutes, the Mustangs went on a 14-0 run over the next six, with Sasser scoring eight points, to take a 16-3 lead. But Navy, who out-rebounded SMU 25-19 in the first half (12-3 on the offensive glass), responded with a 21-8 run and scored 13 straight points to tie the score 24-24 with 4:24 left in the half. The Mustangs then closed the half with an 11-2 run of their own to take a nine-point, 35-26, lead into the break.
SMU was out-rebounded for just the second time this season (New Mexico State) and did not have a player with 10 or more rebounds for the first time in 2000-01. Freshman G Kris Lowe scored nine points off the bench, one shy of his season high, and grabbed four rebounds while converting all five free throw attempts. Sophomore G Quinton Ross finished the game with eight points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs.
The Ponies will take next week off for exams before returning to action Sunday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m., when they host the Houston Cougars in the final home game of 2000.
Official Basketball Box Score
SMU vs Navy
12/9/00 2 pm at Alumni Hall
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VISITORS: SMU 5-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
13 Ross, Quinton....... f 3-7 0-2 2-4 2 6 8 3 8 1 4 1 0 36
34 Davis, Willie....... f 4-8 0-0 3-5 2 5 7 3 11 0 5 0 1 36
33 Kelley, Jibran...... c 1-4 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 12
04 Hancock, Damon...... g 6-11 3-4 2-4 1 1 2 3 17 2 1 0 1 36
05 Sasser, Jeryl....... g 5-12 0-2 2-2 0 3 3 3 12 3 1 2 2 29
23 Atkins, Lavardicus.. 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 7
24 Lowe, Kris.......... 2-3 0-0 5-5 2 2 4 1 9 0 2 0 0 13
43 Floyd, DeWayne...... 1-3 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 4 3 2 0 0 0 21
50 Smith, Nigel........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3
55 Niemi, Mike......... 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 7
Team................ 3 6 9
Totals.............. 23-51 4-10 16-25 11 26 37 21 66 8 15 4 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-23 47.8% 2nd Half: 12-28 42.9% Game: 45.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 40.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-16 68.8% 2nd Half: 5-9 55.6% Game: 64.0% 4
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HOME TEAM: Navy 4-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
33 Williams, Chris..... f 4-11 2-5 1-3 1 1 2 3 11 2 2 0 3 31
42 Reeder, Robert...... f 3-6 0-0 0-1 2 3 5 3 6 1 0 0 1 26
34 Cunningham, Michael. c 4-7 0-0 1-2 4 5 9 3 9 0 3 2 0 20
05 Skipworth, Reggie... g 1-3 1-3 0-2 0 0 0 1 3 1 3 0 0 16
24 Williams, John...... g 1-5 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 18
03 Fernandez, Jason.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
12 Jeanpierre, Jason... 4-9 1-5 1-1 2 2 4 3 10 1 3 0 0 19
15 Lewis, Jehiel....... 2-7 0-1 3-3 2 2 4 1 7 1 2 0 1 16
20 Shepard, Demond..... 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 23
23 Ebong, Francis...... 2-4 0-0 0-3 2 0 2 1 4 0 0 0 0 10
30 Long, Scott......... 1-2 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 4 4 1 1 0 0 9
45 Barker, Kyle........ 0-3 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
53 Higgins, Mike....... 2-5 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 1 6 0 0 0 0 7
Team................ 3 3 6
Totals.............. 25-65 4-19 10-19 20 22 42 24 64 11 16 3 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-35 28.6% 2nd Half: 15-30 50.0% Game: 38.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-12 16.7% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 21.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-8 50.0% 2nd Half: 6-11 54.5% Game: 52.6% 3
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Officials: Jeffrey Plunkett, Carl Bullard, Dick Staver
Technical fouls: SMU-None. Navy-None.
Attendance: 1369
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
SMU........................... 35 31 - 66
Navy.......................... 26 38 - 64
