Arizona Wildcats vs Southern Methodist Mustangs Match Player Stats On Nov 23, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 24, 2017

Southern Methodist senior guard Ben Emelogu II scored a team-high 20 points to help the Mustangs upset No. 2 Arizona 66-60 on Thursday night at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.

It was the second consecutive upset defeat for the No. 2 Wildcats (3-2). Arizona fell 90-84 to North Carolina State on Wednesday.

SMU (5-1) caused 20 turnovers that resulted in 19 points.

Arizona rallied from 11 points down with a 13-0 run to take a 53-51 lead, but the Mustangs didn't panic and bounced back to take a 64-57 lead with 1:07 left.

SMU's Shake Milton had 14 points and freshman Ethan Chargois added 12.

The Mustangs held a lead midway through the second half behind Chargois, who hit back-to-back layups and a free throw. Emelogu sank a 3-pointer to extend the lead. Emelogu then hit his fifth trey of the game to extend SMU's advantage to 49-38. Arizona's Parker Jackson-Cartwright hit 15-footer to inch the Wildcats closer.

Allonzo Trier led Arizona with 22 points. Deandre Ayton had 17 points and 15 rebounds for his fifth consecutive double-double. The two combined for Arizona's final 20 points, but it was hardly enough.

Arizona jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead and looked poised to recover from its loss to North Carolina State. The Wildcats hit six of their first eight shots and kept SMU limited to just a couple of baskets with a more intense defense compared to the night before.

But SMU steadily came back behind guard Emelogu's 14 first-half points. SMU went on a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 22-21.

The two teams exchanged leads throughout the rest of the first half as Arizona cooled down offensively, reverting to long jump shots that didn't go down. SMU could have easily taken the lead at the half, but it failed to convert on three easy baskets down the stretch. Arizona led at the half 31-30.

Ayton was limited to five first-half points because of foul trouble. He played only 13 minutes after picking up his second foul.

NOTES: Arizona F Deandre Ayton, back in his native Bahamas, has not disappointed. He has averaged 22 points in the two games. ... Before this week, Arizona hadn't played in the consolation side of a bracket since losing in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout in 1994 ... Because of NCAA sanctions, SMU is two scholarships below the max of 13. The NCAA violations were for academic fraud and unethical conduct under then-coach Larry Brown.