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No. 12/15 SMU (28-4, 17-1) faces UCF (21-10, 11-7) in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (ESPN2). The Mustangs are the top seed after claiming the outright regular season league title. SMU tied the school record of 28 victories after topping East Carolina 81-77 in the quarterfinal on Friday. The Mustangs won 65-60 at UCF on Jan. 25.
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The Mustangs have won 14 straight and 24 of their last 25 games. SMU has held 22 of the last 25 opponents to 66 points or less. The 77 by ECU was the most allowed in the past 25 games. SMU has won four straight American Athletic Conference tournament games after advancing against ECU Friday. The Mustangs won three straight to claim the 2015 Championship, also at the XL Center.
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LAST GAME - AAC Quarterfinal (W, 81-77 vs. ECU on March 10, 2017) - HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Semi Ojeleye scored a career-high 36 points and No. 12 SMU held off East Carolina 81-77 Friday. The conference's player of the year hit 12 of his 19 shots and pulled down 12 rebounds, giving him his fifth double-double this season.
Sterling Brown added 16 points for SMU (28-4). Kentrell Barkley had 22 of his 24 points in the second half to lead ECU, which rallied from a 22-point halftime deficit to tie the game. Caleb White had 17 points and Elijah Hughes added 15 for the Pirates (15-18). Ojeleye had 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half, when the Mustangs led by as many as 24 points. His dunk and free throw started a 17-5 run that gave them their first double-digit lead at 24-13. SMU hit 12 of its first 17 shots and went into halftime with a 43-21 lead. But the Pirates outscored SMU 56-38 in the second half. They trailed 63-45 with 7 minutes left before making their run. A 3-pointer by White, followed by a steal and layup from Elijah Hughes on the inbounds, cut it to 71-69 with just over 3 minutes left. SMU pushed the lead back to eight, but the Pirates rallied again and Hughes' 3-pointer tied the game at 77 with 57 seconds left. But Ojeleye hit a layup on the other end and Barkley fumbled the ball out of bounds, allowing the Mustangs to hang on.
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THE SERIES VS. UCF (9-6+): SMU expanded its winning streak over UCF with a 65-60 win on Jan. 25, 2017 in the only game between the two teams this season. The series started in 2005 when the two schools were members of Conference USA. (+7-6 officially).
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THIS SEASON VS. UCF (W, 65-60 at CFE Arena on Jan. 25): ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Shake Milton scored 19 points,
Semi Ojeleye added 14, and [RV/RV] SMU beat UCF 65-60.
Ben Moore scored 14 and
Sterling Brown made three 3-pointers for his 100th career trey for the Mustangs. Trailing 35-26 at halftime, UCF closed to 60-56 with 49 seconds left to play after B.J. Taylor's back-to-back jumpers. SMU led 62-56 after Milton's two free throws but Tacko Fall dunked to make it 62-58.
Ben Emelogu II's two free throws put SMU up 64-58 with 28 seconds left, then Taylor made a layup and the Knights trailed by four. Milton iced it with two free throws and Taylor missed a 3 before time expired. Taylor scored 22 and Matt Williams added 14 for UCF (14-6, 5-3), including his 221st trey to rank second in the school record book. Fall grabbed 12 rebounds and scored 10, including a first-half dunk that was so hard his goggles fell off, and had five blocks.
