Dec. 31, 2009

SMU Mustangs (5-6) at TEXAS STATE Bobcats (4-8) - Sat. Jan. 2 - 4 p.m. - Strahan Coliseum (7,200) - San Marcos, Texas - Radio: KAAM 770 AM (Rich Phillips, Allen Stone) - Internet: txstatebobcats.com

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

The SMU Mustangs open 2010 with a game at Texas State on Saturday at 4 p.m. This is a completion of a non-conference home-and-home this season with SMU winning 94-86 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas on Dec. 7. This is also the last game for SMU before the Conference USA schedule begins at UTEP on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT. The Mustangs are looking for a second straight win after defeating Army 71-63 at home on Wednesday and looking for a second straight road win; knocking off Occidental 77-49 in their only road game this season (Dec. 19).

THE SERIES VS. TEXAS STATE: SMU and Texas State are meeting for the seventh time with SMU winning all six previous matchups. The Mustangs are 2-0 in the games at San Marcos. The teams met in Dallas earlier this season with SMU winning 94-86 on Dec. 7. The last meeting at Texas State was a 78-67 SMU win on Dec. 1, 2005.

LAST MEETING VS. TEXAS STATE (DEC. 7, W 94-86 at SMU): DALLAS (AP) - Derek Williams scored 21 points and Robert Nyakundi added a career-high 19 as SMU beat Texas State 94-86 on Monday night. Mohammed Faye finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Mike Walker had 12 points for the Mustangs (3-3). Uriel Segura, Tony Bishop and J.B. Conley each scored 18 for the Bobcats (3-6). Nyakundi had 17 points in the first half, and SMU led 52-41 at the break. The Mustangs' point total was their highest since a 99-96 double-overtime victory over UTEP on March 1, 2008. Their first-half total was their highest since scoring 55 against Louisiana-Monroe on November 11, 2006. SMU never trailed and led by as many as 21. Texas State opened the second half on a 9- 0 run to pull to within 52-50 but never got any closer.

LAST GAME (Dec. 30 - W 71-63 vs. Army): DALLAS (AP) - Derek Williams scored 20 points and Papa Dia added 19 and a career-high 14 rebounds as SMU held on to defeat Army 71-63 Wednesday night. Williams hit six free throws in the final 29 seconds to seal the win. The Mustangs (5-6) led by 12 with 3:58 to play, but the Black Knights then went on a 14-6 run to pull within 67-63 with 18 seconds remaining. Army failed to score again and Williams and Dia each hit two free throws to clinch the victory. Josh Miller and Julian Simmons scored 14 points apiece to lead the Black Knights (9-3), who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Army was aiming for its first 10-2 start since 1976-77. SMU fell behind 8-2 but quickly rebounded and took a 34-22 lead into halftime. The Mustangs extended their lead to as many as 16 in the second half.

NOTES FROM THE ARMY GAME:
-SMU outshot Army 51.3% - 38.6% and is 5-1 when outshooting opponents.
-SMU improved to 5-2 when leading at the half this year.
-The Mustangs improved to 4-0 when making 6+ three-pointers this season.
-This is the third time this year four players have reached double figures in the same game (Williams 20, Dia 19, Haynes 10, Faye 12). SMU is 2-1 in those games. -The Mustangs were 25-31 from the line. They are now 3-1 this season and 25-17 under Matt Doherty when attempting 20+ free throws.
- Papa Dia - Had a season-high 19 points, career-highs of 14 rebounds and 4 blocks, tied his career-high with 3 assists and had a steal. It is his third double-double of the season.
- Mouhammad Faye - Scored 12 points for his seventh game in double digits this season.
- Rodney Clinkscales - Made his first start of the season.
- Derek Williams - Had 20 points (3-6 3FG, 9-10 FT); 3 3FGs tied his career-high (was 3-31 for the season before the game).

QUICK TAKE:
1 - W-L Differential: In wins, SMU holds opponents to 40.6 FG% and 33.0 3FG%. In losses, the opponents shoot 49.5% and 43.4% from 3-point range. Also, SMU makes 20.4 FTs in wins and just 10.5 in losses. SMU is 4-1 when attempting 20 or more FTs.
2 - Papa Dia is averaging 14.8 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting 61.1 percent (22-36) in the last 4 games. He has two double-doubles in that stretch (College of Charleston and Army).
3 - Derek Williams is averaging 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals in the last 4 games. He is 23-29 on FTs (.793) in that stretch. He hit 6-6 FTs in the final 29 seconds of the win vs. Army.
4 - Mouhammad Faye has 13 blocked shots this season with four multi-block games. He had 13 all of last season and 14 as a freshman at Georgia Tech.
5 - Derek Williams has scored 8 or more points in every game this season and has 15 or more points 7 times. His 15.0 scoring average ranks 8th in C-USA.
6 - Papa Dia is averaging 8.5 rebounds (5th in C-USA) and has had 8 or more rebounds 6 times this season. Of his 95 rebounds this year, 41 are on the offensive end. His 3.7 offensive rebounds per game leads C-USA. He is also a career 63.3 percent FT shooter, but is up to 80.6 percent (29-36) this season (10th in C-USA).
7 - Robert Nyakundi has been limited by injuries, but scored 19 points in 20 minutes against Texas State. He was 7-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. 8 - Mouhammad Faye scored 21 points and Paul McCoy had 20 against Texas A&M on Nov. 16. It was the first time two Mustangs had 20 points since the same duo (McCoy 32, Faye 23) in a 92-62 win over Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Dec. 31, 2008.
9 - Against Florida Gulf Coast, Paul McCoy co-led SMU in points (18), rebounds (8), assists (3), steals (2). It was the second time he had led or co-led in all four categories; also doing so against East Carolina on Jan. 24, 2009. That was the first time for a Mustang since Bryan Hopkins against Marshall on Feb. 18, 2006.
10 - Mike Walker hit 8 straight 3-pointers in a two game stretch in December. He was 4-4 against Texas State on Dec. 7 and hit his first 4 from long-range; going 4-6 at Occidental on Dec. 19. Of his 11 FGs this season, 10 are 3FG. The other was with a foot on the 3-point line at Occidental.
11 - Justin Haynes is averaging 8.6 points in the last 5 games with three double-digit outings. He is also 15-22 FG (.682) and 11-14 FT (.786) in the stretch.

STREAKS:
10+points: Papa Dia 4 (10, 14, 16, 19), Derek Williams 4 (18, 10, 19, 20), Mouhammad Faye (12), Justin Haynes (10)
8+ rebounds: Papa Dia (14)
Dbl-Dbl: Papa Dia (19 pts, 14 rebs)
5+ assists:
3+ steals:
2+ blocks: Papa Dia (4)

MILESTONES:
SMU Career 3FGM: Mike Walker is 16th 76 (15th Gerald Lewis 79, 14th Dez Willingham 81, 13th Todd Alexander 92)

BIG PICTURE (NOTES ENTERING THE 2009-10 SEASON)
1 - Last season, a first-year player led the team in scoring in 27 of 30 games, which was the highest percentage in the nation. Paul McCoy led 12 times as a freshman, Derek Williams led in scoring 10 times as a junior, Mouhammad Faye three times as a junior, and Robert Nyakundi led twice as a redshirt freshman.
2 - Last season Paul McCoy led the team in scoring 12 times, tying the SMU record for a freshman. He averaged 13.4 points per game en route to becoming the first freshman to ever lead SMU in scoring. McCoy also earned two C-USA Rookie of the Week honors. McCoy was selected preseason All-Conference USA By Blue Ribbon Yearbook for the 2009-10 season.
3 - The Mustangs' roster was all recruited by head coach Matt Doherty, which includes a Conference USA All-Freshman Team honoree each of the last two seasons; Paul McCoy (2008-09) and Papa Dia (2007-08). McCoy anchored a class rated as high as No. 33 nationally and Dia headlined a class rated as high as No. 24.
4 - The Mustangs now feature a more experienced lineup with two seniors, five juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. The squad lost just one starter in Bamba Fall, a Conference USA All-Defensive Team selection. Overall, the squad returns six of its top seven scorers and 83.1 percent of last season's scoring, 67.9 percent of its rebounding, 90.1 percent of its assists, and 89.4 percent of its steals.
5 - The Mustangs improved in 13 of 19 statistical categories ranked by Conference USA from 2007-08 to 2008-09, including scoring, scoring defense, overall and 3-point field goal percentage, overall and 3-point field goal percentage defense, and rebounding margin.
6 - SMU has made 589 three-pointers in head coach Matt Doherty's first three seasons. That is the best mark for any 3-year period in SMU history.
7 - Senior Mouhammad Faye played for Senegal's National Team in the 2009 African Games in Libya. The Senegalese went 5-4 to finish seventh in the championship after winning Group C in the opening stage and winning Group F in the qualifying round. Faye was seventh in the tournament at 17.3 points per game while averaging 3.8 rebounds and shooting 46.7 percent. Faye also played for the Senegalese National Team in 2007 with Bamba Fall (2009 graduate). The 2007 squad finished ninth in the championships in Angola.
8 - For the second season, the NBA's Dallas Mavericks held training camp at SMU's Crum Basketball Center.
9 - The 2009-10 schedule includes at least 11 games against 2009 postseason teams and a minimum of 10 games against last season's RPI top-100 including Memphis, Tulsa and UNLV. The Ponies host 17 home games at Moody Coliseum, including eight games against Conference USA foes. The season starts with six consecutive home games, beginning with South Florida on Nov. 13 and Texas A&M on Nov. 16. Metroplex rival TCU visits Moody Coliseum for the State Farm DFW Duel on Dec. 2.
10 - Captains: Mouhammad Faye, Derek Williams and Paul McCoy were named team captains prior to the start of practice.

HEAD COACH Matt Doherty...is in his ninth season as a head coach and his fourth season at SMU. This is his 19th season in collegiate coaching with eight NCAA Tournaments, seven conference titles, a Final Four appearance and the 2001 AP National Coach of the Year award. He also has 22 players that have gone to the NBA. He has a 128-135 record including a 38-64 mark on the Hilltop.