Southern Methodist Mustangs vs Houston Cougars Match Player Stats On Mar 07, 2019

Seniors Corey Davis Jr. and Breaon Brady combined for 33 points on Senior Night as 12th-ranked Houston clinched a share of its first regular-season conference championship since 1992 with a 90-79 victory over visiting SMU on Thursday.

The Cougars (28-2, 15-2 American Athletic Conference) bounced back from their first home loss in two years by shooting 12 of 29 on 3-point attempts and outflanking the short-handed Mustangs (13-16, 5-12).

SMU, ravaged by injuries, dropped its fourth consecutive game and has lost 9 of 10.

Davis scored 17 points and sank four 3-pointers while Brady added 16 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Galen Robinson Jr. paired 11 points with five assists for Houston, which secured the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament at FedEx Forum in Memphis next week.

Junior guard Armoni Brooks led the Cougars with 20 points, hitting 6 of 10 3-point tries, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Houston finished 19-1 at home.

SMU produced a valiant effort but could not overcome an 11-0 Houston run that stretched the deficit to 57-40 early in the second half. Davis followed a four-point play with a 3-pointer to cap that rally and put the Mustangs in chase mode.

Jahmal McMurray led SMU with 24 points while Ethan Chargois scored 21 and Isiaha Mike 15 with a team-high six rebounds.

The Mustangs offset their brilliant first-half shooting with 13 turnovers prior to the intermission. SMU shot 68.4 percent from the floor, including a scorching 7 of 10 beyond the arc, but the Cougars first established a 27-16 lead on a Nate Hinton jumper at the 8:47 mark and maintained a working margin for the remainder of the half.

Houston converted those SMU turnovers into 21 points and posted a plus-13 advantage on shot attempts before the break.

The Mustangs' lack of depth enabled Houston to produce a 16-0 advantage in first-half bench points. Yet, despite these disadvantages. SMU strung together 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, two from McMurray, and trailed 46-37 at the half. McMurray had 15 by the break.

--Field Level Media