By Andy Lohman

The crowd at Moody Coliseum rose to its feet and gave an ovation to Jarrey Foster as he entered the 79-65 win over Lamar on Nov. 27. The senior guard, who as the most experienced player on the roster is the Mustangs' elder statesman and leader, hadn't played a competitive game since injuring his ACL on Jan. 17.

It was an emotional moment as he shared an embrace with fellow senior Nat Dixon on his way to take an in-bounds pass, as the Moody crowd continued to salute the dynamic leader.

"There were a lot of emotions all day," Foster said after the game. "But first coming onto the court and hearing the crowd and just feeling that again was wonderful. That meant a lot to me."

"It made me emotional to have him even back," head coach Tim Jankovich said. "His work ethic is beyond belief. So when you see a guy do that, and you see a sacrifice…emotional pain and physical pain and all the things. And then finally, finally he gets to play. For me, it's emotional."

Foster's return would have been a special moment no matter what, but almost immediately, he displayed the many different ways he can affect a game. After in-bounding the ball with his first touch in over 10 months, he put back a missed shot with a tip-in lay-up for his first two points of the season.

He couldn't help but let out a yell on his way back down the floor, the victorious relief on display for all to see.

He quickly racked up seven points in four minutes, draining his first three-point shot attempt, and flushing an alley-oop from Dixon on a backside cut. In his first bit of playing time, he led SMU on a 17-10 run that saw the Mustangs take the lead for good midway through the first half.

If it weren't for the knee brace he was wearing, Foster's play wouldn't give any indication of a player coming off a serious injury.

"Besides the points, besides anything, it just felt good to pass the ball, to run up the court, to play defense," Foster said.

Foster finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting with two rebounds, an assist and a steal. But his mark on the game was evident even outside the box score. The Mustangs moved the ball fluidly, racking up 23 assists on 31 made baskets, the most assists by an SMU team since a Dec. 13, 2017 win over New Orleans. Senior guard Jahmal McMurray alone had nine assists, a career high.

"Ball movement and talk, for sure," McMurray said. "But we knew that when 'Rey got back stuff would flow better."

"It's a trust thing, man," Foster said of the ball movement. "Once you trust the guys around you and you put that all together, that's what happens. We could have beat any team today."

That ball movement was perfectly captured in a play near the end of the first half. Foster collected the ball outside the arc and was met with a Lamar double-team. He coolly dished to McMurray at the elbow, who turned and threw a lob for freshman forward Feron Hunt to slam home.

"He's got a high IQ, a high-competitive motor and a he's a winner. Having that is contagious. I think it calms our players, they get another sense of confidence when he's on the floor," Jankovich said. "Playing like a winner is playing completely unselfishly, always talking to your teammate, always making the extra pass, play, block-out, rotation. He's just so advanced. His teams always have a chance."

Foster's return gives a boost to the Mustangs (4-3), who played with 10 available scholarship players for the first time this season. In his career, SMU is 68-16 in games where Foster plays, including 46-2 at home.

"Just getting back on that court, having that confidence, having that pride," Foster said. "That was everything to me."