By Andy Lohman

After a long break for the holidays, SMU men's basketball enters American Athletic Conference play in the new year having won six of its last seven games.

The young, inexperienced and injured Mustangs struggled to a 2-3 start, but since Jimmy Whitt Jr. hit a last minute, game-winning jumper against Wright State in Cancun, Mexico on Nov. 21, SMU has put together a string of quality basketball to close out 2018.

December can be a challenging month for a basketball team, as student-athletes take finals and schools take a break before the spring semester. But the Mustangs responded to their only loss in the last seven games (a close battle with a TCU team that is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches polls) by beating Georgetown on the road on Dec. 15 and closing out an emphatic win over Cornell on Dec. 22.

The 81-53 win over the Big Red was spurred by 22 points from Whitt, who went 10-for-11 from the floor in the first half. The scoring display started when Whitt dribbled around a ball screen to find an open lane, giving him the space to throw down a thunderous dunk over a Cornell defender.

"I honestly thought it was the dunk that got me going," Whitt said. "You get into a little zone sometimes when you make a big play. It got me in a zone and I felt like I stretched it out as far as I could."

As the last game before SMU opens conference play on Jan. 2 against East Carolina, it was important to close out the win. After scoring 22 points in the first half, Whitt didn't score at all in the second. The Mustangs were buoyed by double-digit performances by seniors Jahmal McMurray (14) and Jarrey Foster (12) and freshman Feron Hunt (12).

That offensive balance has been crucial to winning games: SMU is 6-0 in games where it has four or more players score 10+ points. McMurray is the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points with eight consecutive double-digit performances. He is third in the AAC in scoring.

SMU has been successful because it doesn't have to rely on just McMurray for scoring. Sophomore forward Ethan Chargois presents a dual threat with his ability to finish down low and shoot from long range. He averages 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Sophomore Isiaha Mike found his shooting touch in late November and strung together five straight double-digit scoring performances, highlighted by 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in a win over McNeese.

Much of that offensive balance can be attributed to the return of Foster from his January ACL injury. The senior's experience and poise has improved the Mustangs' ball movement dramatically. Since his return against Lamar, SMU has registered at least 12 assists as a team in every single game. His presence is felt on the defensive end too. In the six games before his return, SMU opponents scored 71.2 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting. Since then, they score just 64.0 points on 41.4 percent.

Hunt is leading the team in rebounding, grabbing 7.1 boards in just 21.9 minutes per game. His athleticism and length were there from the start of his young career, but as he has grown more comfortable with the college game he has transformed into a truly dangerous weapon for SMU. He has seven or more rebouds in 10 out of 12 games this year, and against Cornell, he notched 12 points and nine rebounds without missing a shot.

Senior guard Nat Dixon started eight games in Foster's stead to start the year, and while he now comes off the bench has proven what a valuable contributor he is. In the win at Georgetown, his 11 first-half points were crucial for the Mustangs.

The AAC is a challenging league, with five teams above the 10-win mark as of Dec. 28. Houston is ranked 19th in the Coaches poll and 22nd in the AP poll with a perfect 12-0 record, while Cincinnati is receiving votes with an impressive 11-2 mark. Preseason favorite UCF stands at 10-2.

"We're getting better, we're playing better," head coach Tim Jankovich said. "We've got a great challenge going into the new year, but I see signs. I definitely see that we're headed in the right direction."

"Momentum," Whitt said of what the past two wins gives the Mustangs. "I feel like we're starting to see a lot of pictures with what we want to do on the offensive end, defensive end. We're starting to play harder, which is really good for us. We know we have a really tough conference. Just to have some wins under your belt, especially going into a long break before you play again, that's good, especially for momentum."