By Andy Lohman

Junior guard Jimmy Whitt Jr. knew it as soon as it left his hands. His chest pass found senior guard Jahmal McMurray in the corner, and he drained a three-pointer giving Whitt his 10th assist of the night. The dime gave Whitt a triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), the first by an SMU player since 1999.

"Oh yeah I knew 100 percent," Whitt said in the postgame press conference. "I told Zay [Isiaha Mike] and Jahmal to shoot it if they touched it."

In a span of just over two minutes, the Columbia, Missouri product went from having no statistical category in double figures to the first triple-double of his life. He grabbed his 10th rebound off a missed McNeese shot, then moments later hit a pull-up jump shot for his ninth and 10th points of the night to record his second career double-double.

But with eight assists, Whitt knew that a triple-double was within reach. A dish to Mike at the left wing for three preceded the pass to McMurray to push Whitt over the edge. As McMurray's shot hit the bottom of the net, Whitt put his hands in the air and let a grin spread across his face.

"I didn't think I'd ever do it," Whitt said. "I don't know, I'm at a loss for words because it's so hard to get 10 assists and 10 rebounds and 10 points all in the same game. Just to go out there and do it is pretty amazing."

"My gosh, we have Lebron now on our team, he got a triple-double!" head coach Tim Jankovich said. "It really is hard to do that. Proud of him, he's had two tremendous games out of the last three. The one that he didn't, he was sick. He's playing awfully well."

The fact that Whitt's triple-double was the first by an SMU player this millennium shows how hard it is to reach double figures in three separate stat categories. He also became just the third Mustang ever to record one. Jeryl Sasser collected 16 points, 10 boards and 10 assists against Lamar on Nov. 23, 1999. Before him, Gerald Lewis achieved the feat three times in the spring of 1993.

To put the exclamation point on his night, Whitt's 11th and 12th points of the night came from an emphatic, one-handed dunk from the baseline.

His impressive passing night highlighted a trend for the Mustangs, who have tallied at least 23 assists as a team in the past two games. Against Lamar on Nov. 27, McMurray dished a career-high nine helpers.

"I think in practice it was definitely something we focused on," Mike said. "Trying to get as many easy looks as we can. I feel like ball movement is a big part of that, getting the defense shifting and you just end up open. We've got a lot of good scorers and a lot of good shooters on our team. I think with the way Jarrey plays, the way that Jimmy looks to find the open man, I think it's really good for us."

Mike had his highest-scoring night as a Mustang, racking up 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. He also collected four rebounds, a steal and an assist. After a slow start to the season, Mike has scored in double figures in two straight games. He credits the recent success to taking the pressure off himself.

"Just having a talk with the guys. Jahmal especially, he took me aside and was like, 'man, just hoop,'" Mike, who is in his first year playing for SMU after transferring from Duquesne, said. "With the sit-out year, I felt like I had to come in and prove myself. But my teammates know that I'm talented, my coaching staff knows that I'm talented. I just had to believe that."

With three straight wins, SMU (5-3) is finding a rhythm offensively in the middle of a four-game homestand. The Mustangs return to action on Sunday when they host Oral Roberts at Moody Coliseum at 2 p.m.

"Love the way we passed the ball, shared the ball, we had a lot of assists, crashed the offensive boards, lots of really good things," Jankovich said. "I like the feeling on our team right now."