DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU Mustangs squandered an 11-point second-half lead and fell, 85-82, to the visiting Appalachian State Mountaineers on Thursday, Dec. 18.

The Mustangs took the lead early in the game and pushed the margin to 11 at 55-44 with 15:03 left in the second half before the Moutaineers rallied to close the game on a 41-27 run.

ASU took the lead for good at the 6:06 mark on a jumper by Derek Thomas and held on as SMU failed to get off a last-second shot to tie the game.

Texas native Noah Brown led ASU with 23 points while Thomas added 22 of the bench. Bryan Hopkins led four SMU scorers in double-figures with 23. Eric Castro (19), Patrick Simpson (15) and Justin Isham (10) rounded out SMU's top scorers.

For the game, SMU shot an impressive 52 percent from the floor but were outrebounded by the Mountaineers, 35-31, and allowed ASU to hit nine three-point shots. With the win, ASU moves to 5-5, while SMU falls to 3-3.

Up next for SMU is a trip to the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind., where the Mustangs will face Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 1 p.m.