March 7, 2009
Box Score 
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HOUSTON (AP) -Aubrey Coleman had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Zamal Nixon scored 21 to lead Houston past SMU 89-77 on Saturday night.
Derek Williams scored a career-high 32 points for SMU (9-20, 3-13 Conference USA). He was 11-of-17 from the field. Williams had 24 points in the second half and helped the Mustangs get within 72-64 with 5:26 to play. He did it in the absence of SMU's leading scorer in freshman Paul McCoy. McCoy missed the game with a sprained right ankle, but is expected to play in the first round of the conference championship on Wednesday.
The 32 points by Williams matched McCoy for the most by a Mustang this season. It was also one point off the SMU record for a Conference USA game help by Jon Killen, which scored 33 in a 99-96 double-overtime win at Moody Coliseum on March 1, 2008.
Coleman was 6-of-12 from the field and 10-for-12 on free throws for the Cougars, who will meet the Mustangs again Wednesday in the first round of the Conference USA tournament. Nixon made seven 3-pointers to help the Houston bench outscore the Mustangs 25-14. Nixon also had seven assists.
For SMU, Justin Haynes had a season-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Mouhammad Faye scored 10. Senior Bamba Fall had a team-high seven boards with seven points.
Houston (19-10, 10-6 Conference USA) also got double-digit scoring from Kelvin Lewis (19 points) and Qa'rraan Calhoun (17).
The Mustangs will face Houston in the first round of the C-USA Championship Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. in Memphis, Tenn. For more information on the championship, click here. The winner will face UTEP in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
