Written by Adrian Beecher
Hartford, CT- Markus Kennedy scored 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as he came off the bench to give SMU Mustangs just the spark they needed to topple the Owls in the AAC Semifinals.
Temple jumped out to an early 11-3 lead on the Mustangs as the game got started. In the first 4 minutes Temple was shooting 40% from the field, while the Stangs were only at 14%. The Owls would then extend their lead to 10 on a 3 point play by Will Cummings to make it 17-7 with 11:17 left to play in the first half.
Larry Browns Mustangs then went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to just three with 6:36 left in the first half. But turnovers would allow the Owls to stay in the lead until :46 seconds were left in the half and the Mustang’s were able to tie the game at 26. The Owls capitalized on SMU turnovers with 11 points in the first half as they went to the locker room with a 28-26 lead.
The Mustangs came out in the second half with fire in their eyes shooting 9 for 10 in the first 9 minutes. Ryan Manual laid down a monster slam for the Stangs that made it 49-38 with 11:52 left to play in the game.
Sterling Brown talked about the teams’ explosive start to the second half. “We were just getting stops and executing. We talked about that at halftime, we wanted to come out and execute and do what Coach said.” Brown finished the game with 10 boards and 8 points.
The Owls fought their way back, but down the stretch they were only able to get as close as 7 point 5 times as the Mustangs continue to out perform the Owls. SMU finished the game on an 8-2 run to seal their spot in the AAC Championship game with a 69-56 win over Temple.
The win puts the Mustangs in a conference championship game for the first time since 1988, that came when they were in the now dissolved Southwest Conference. They will face the winner of UConn vs Tulsa on Sunday at 3:15 pm on ESPN
Temple jumped out to an early 11-3 lead on the Mustangs as the game got started. In the first 4 minutes Temple was shooting 40% from the field, while the Stangs were only at 14%. The Owls would then extend their lead to 10 on a 3 point play by Will Cummings to make it 17-7 with 11:17 left to play in the first half.
Larry Browns Mustangs then went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to just three with 6:36 left in the first half. But turnovers would allow the Owls to stay in the lead until :46 seconds were left in the half and the Mustang’s were able to tie the game at 26. The Owls capitalized on SMU turnovers with 11 points in the first half as they went to the locker room with a 28-26 lead.
The Mustangs came out in the second half with fire in their eyes shooting 9 for 10 in the first 9 minutes. Ryan Manual laid down a monster slam for the Stangs that made it 49-38 with 11:52 left to play in the game.
Sterling Brown talked about the teams’ explosive start to the second half. “We were just getting stops and executing. We talked about that at halftime, we wanted to come out and execute and do what Coach said.” Brown finished the game with 10 boards and 8 points.
The Owls fought their way back, but down the stretch they were only able to get as close as 7 point 5 times as the Mustangs continue to out perform the Owls. SMU finished the game on an 8-2 run to seal their spot in the AAC Championship game with a 69-56 win over Temple.
The win puts the Mustangs in a conference championship game for the first time since 1988, that came when they were in the now dissolved Southwest Conference. They will face the winner of UConn vs Tulsa on Sunday at 3:15 pm on ESPN