Box Score | Postgame Notes
Postgame Audio: Tim Jankovich
By Dylan Edwards, SMUMustangs.com
TULSA, Okla. (SMU) - Playing with only seven scholarship players and without leading scorer Shake Milton, SMU was unable to get the road conference win, falling to Tulsa, 76-67, on Thursday night.
Milton, who was averaging more than 19 points per game in league play, was out with a right hand injury which left SMU without its best scorer and offensive facilitator. It was the first time in his Mustang career where Milton was unable to take the court. Compounded with the prior season-ending injuries to Jarrey Foster and Everett Ray, the Mustangs found themselves too short-handed to keep up with the Golden Hurricane.
Despite the obvious disadvantage, SMU came out with hot shooting and great energy in the first half. Junior Jahmal McMurray, in particular, knocked down 5 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes for 16 first-half points. McMurray finished with 22 points and hit 7 shots from 3-point range, tying the third-most makes in SMU history.
SMU took a one-point lead into halftime by way of a furious finish over the final seconds. Senior Ben Emelogu II knocked down a 3-pointer to pull SMU to one with seven seconds left. Sophomore Jimmy Whitt proceeded to steal an errant pass and hit a midrange jumper at the buzzer to grab the lead.
Out of halftime, Tulsa would take control of the game as the numbers caught up to SMU. A 12-0 run from the Golden Hurricane gave Tulsa an 11-point lead before three minutes of the second half had passed.
Head coach Tim Jankovich often speaks highly of the character of his team. Playing with such little experience and depth on the road, most teams would have just accepted the result and tried to get out of the arena. SMU, however, never stopped battling until the clock ran out.
The Mustangs cut Tulsa's lead down to just two possessions on a number of occasions in the second half. Each time though, it seemed like Tulsa was able to find a big shot to stretch back out its lead before SMU could compete a comeback effort.
Senior Ben Emelogu II was a huge reason for the second-half pushes as 17 of his career-high 24 points came in the final 20 minutes.
Both McMurray and Whitt played all 40 minutes of the contest. Whitt's 13 rebounds were the most by a Mustang this season. While he didn't score, freshman William Douglas also showed great effort to finish with six rebounds, the second-most on the team.
The Mustangs were also unable to overcome the huge advantage at the free-throw line that Tulsa enjoyed. Tulsa shot 82 percent from the line and was awarded 19 more free throws than SMU. In a game where SMU needed to limit foul trouble, five of the seven Mustangs that played significant minutes accumulated at least three fouls.
SMU has a week off before traveling to Houston on February 1 for an 8 p.m. tip. Milton is day-to-day with the hand injury.
