SMU UCONN 73 55 (21-5, 12-2) (14-10, 7-5) 1st 2nd F  UCONN 26 29 55  SMU 41 32 73  Stat Comparison SMU UCONN  Points 73 55  FG Made-Att. 26-54 17-50  FG Percentage 48.1% 34.0%  3FG Made-Att. 3-8 7-25  3FG Percentage 37.5% 28.0%  FT Made-Att. 18-23 114-20  FT Percentage 78.3% 70.0%  Rebounds 14-35 14-31  Assists 14 10  Turnovers 10 15  Blocks 6 3  Steals 9 4  Individual Leaders  Stat  SMU  UCONN  Points  Tied (3) - 13  R. Boatright - 19  Rebounds  Y. Moreira - 10  K. Facey - 6  Assists  N. Moore - 6  D. Hamilton - 4  Steals  B. Emelogu - 3  R. Boatright - 2  Blocks  M. Kennedy - 2  A. Brimah - 2  Up Next  Who:  Temple  When:  Thu., Feb. 19 - 6 PM CT  Where:  Moody Coliseum - Dallas  TV:  ESPN2  Radio:  KAAM 770 AM  Live Stats:  SMU Gametracker Schedule  |  Tickets

Feb. 14, 2015

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DALLAS (AP) -- Markus Kennedy and Yanick Moreira scored 13 points apiece and the two big men combined for a couple of dunks that helped build a big first-half lead in [25/25] SMU's 73-55 win over Connecticut on Saturday night.

The 6-foot-11 Moreira tossed an alley-oop to the 6-9 Kennedy for a dunk and found his frontcourt mate alone under the basket for another easy slam in the final seconds of the half to give the American Athletic Conference-leading Mustangs (21-5, 12-2) a 41-26 lead.

Ryan Boatright scored 19 to lead the Huskies (14-10, 7-5), who had a three-game winning streak snapped about 25 miles from where they won the national championship by beating Kentucky last April at the $1.2 billion home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Raucous and sold-out Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus was quite a contrast for UConn's return to the Dallas area after the Final Four in the cavernous palace Jerry Jones built. Plus, students got an early boost when one of their own hit a halfcourt shot to win $18,000 on national TV about nine hours before the late tip-off. ESPN College GameDay Covered by State Farm televised live from Moody Saturday morning.

By the end, they were shaking the stands by jumping and chanting just before Nic Moore made them even louder with a 3-pointer for a 67-39 lead. The party was tempered a bit, though, when Kennedy left with an apparent leg or ankle injury in the final 2 minutes.

Boatright, the sidekick to Shabazz Napier for UConn's run to the title but trying to carry the load on his own with his backcourt mate gone to the NBA, hit his first two 3-pointers for a 10-3 lead before the Mustangs took control.

The UConn senior was just 2 of 9 from long range the rest of the way and committed two of his game-high four turnovers during an 18-2 SMU run for a 21-12 lead. Sterling Brown had five straight points during the spurt and also scored 13 for the Mustangs.

SMU set a Moody Coliseum (post renovation) single-game attendance record at 7,395. The previous record was 7,305 vs. Louisville last March. The Mustangs also set a new single-season home attendance mark for the 2014-15 season at 110,820. The previous record of 107,412 was set last season.

The Mustangs are back in action Thursday, Feb. 19 when they host Temple at Moody Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2. Tickets can be purchased online at smumustangs.com/tickets.