SMU pulls away in the second half to beat Washington State 77-60

Nov 28, 2024, 05:01 am

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- — Boopie Miller scored 16 points, Samet Yigitoglu added 12 points and 11 rebounds and SMU pulled away late to beat Washington State 77-60 Wednesday night in the Acrisure Holiday Invitational title game.

Chuck Harris added 14 points, B.J. Edwards 13 points and Kario Oquendo 11 for the Mustangs (6-2), who shot 42% — 50% in the second half — and dominated the boards 51-25 with Matt Cross pulling down 10 to go with seven points. SMU had 22 offensive rebounds, outscoring the Cougars 21-6 on second-chance points and 44-18 in the paint.

Nate Calmese scored 15 points and Ethan Price and LeJuan Watts 12 each for the Cougars (6-2), who put up 33 3-pointers, making 10, and shot 37% overall. They had a season-low eight turnovers but with their challenges inside, half of their points came from beyond the arc. They had a three-game win streak snapped.

WSU led 31-27 at halftime and matched its largest lead of seven on Price's 3-pointer to open the second half. SMU took the lead for good at 43-42 and a 10-0 run with six points from Yigitoglu increased the lead to 16 with a couple minutes to go.

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