Ponies Go 4-0 On Canadian Tour
Oct 14 | Men's Basketball
DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU men's basketball team wrapped up its Canadian tour with a perfect 4-0 record, sweeping a pair of games against the EA Sports All-Stars and contests with the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University.
SMU opened the tour with a convincing 81-69 win over EA Sports on Saturday, Oct. 11. Bryan Hopkins led the Ponies with 20 points, while freshmen Demetric Bennett and Devon Pearson each added 10 off the bench. SMU outrebounded the former college stars, 43-26, led by Donatas Rackauskas and Eric Castro, who had nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
Later that evening, SMU was forced to overtime by Simon Fraser, one of Canada's top teams, but emerged victorious, 79-77. Brian Miller led the charge in the night game, hitting four-of-four three-point tries and finishing with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Patrick Simpson had a balanced game for SMU, recording 11 points and seven boards.
On Sunday, Oct. 12, the Mustangs again bettered the All-Stars, this time by a count of 91-77. Pearson led the way with 16 points, while Miller added 13 and Justin Isham 12. Kris Lowe also got into the act, chipping in 11, while Castro and Rackauskas each notched nine.
The Mustangs wrapped up the tour with an 88-76 win over British Columbia on Monday, Oct. 13. Bennett had a team-high 16 in the win, while Castro, Rackauskas and Pearson each had 12.
For the four-game tour, Miller led SMU in scoring at 11.0 ppg. Pearson was second at 10.5 ppg, while Bennett was third at 9.5. Eric Castro was the top rebounder at 4.8 rpg, while Pearson, Simpson and Rackauskas each averaged over four boards per contest.
SMU return state-side later this week for "Midday Madness," an open-to-the-public session following the SMU-Boise State football game on Oct. 18. Exhibition play is set for Nov. 8 and Nov. 16 as the Ponies will host InterHoops from Lithuania and EA Sports at Moody Coliseum.
