Inside The Mustangs

Mustangs' Furious Comeback Stuns West Virginia

SMU set to face Wisconsin in Beach Division Championship of Fort Myers Tip-Off

Kent Smith

Mustangs' Furious Comeback Stuns West Virginia
Mustangs' Furious Comeback Stuns West Virginia /
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FORT MYERS, Fla. – When we last saw SMU basketball coach Rob Lanier, he openly pondered how his team would respond to a tough loss to No. 13 Texas A&M for its first loss of the season.

"I won't know that until Friday when we get back to practice," Lanier said. "The aftermath of the disappointment, what that does to this group as opposed to this time last year?"

While the Mustangs' head coach may have found out on Friday, their fans found out shortly after halftime of a 70-58 win over Big 12 foe West Virginia in the first round of the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off. SMU was out of sort as tempers flared and the game in the paint floundered against the larger Mountaineers. The turmoil resulted in a 36-25 halftime deficit.

However, Lanier brought a different team out after the break. Trailing 38-27, Chuck Harris knocked down a three that swung the momentum, spurring a big run. He then knocked down a pair of free throws, setting up the defensive play of the game. 

West Virginia forward Josiah Harris went up for a towering dunk. However, Keon Ambrose-Hylton froze Harris' dunking motion partway down as the ball didn't move upon contact while Harris kept plowing forward, leaving Hylton behind with the ball to get a fast break started. Zhuric Phelps hit a lay-up for two of his team leading 17 points to cut the lead to 38-34. 

That was when Ricardo Wright took over. He answered a Quinn Slazinski three with a deep three of his own. His energy was immediate and it spread throughout the team. The Mustangs turned up the pace on both ends of the floor, allowing Phelps to knock down a jumper to cut the lead to two.

That set up a chance to take advantage of a West Virginia turnover. When Chuck Harris swung the ball to Wright beyond the arc on the right side of the court, there was no doubt SMU was about to complete the comeback. Not long after, Wright caught it in stride from the logo at the top of the key and knocked down another to extend SMU's lead to 66-54. As the ball ripped through the bottom of the net, Wright's muscles immediately rippled across his body as he let out a guttural scream of dominance that added fuel to the R-rated frustration playing out on social media among West Virginia fans. 

"I wrote on the board 'RFW' with three exclamation points and they figured out exactly what that meant right way," Lanier said. "I was proud of him. I admitted to him that I should have played him more in the A&M game, and I should have because he had been doing what I had asked him to do."

At one point, West Virginia's leading scorer, Jesse Edward, hit a lay-up to give West Virginia a 47-44 lead, but it was painfully obvious the knockout punch was coming. The Mustangs may have fallen behind big in the first half while losing their composure, but there was still a win to be taken. SMU kept pushing the pace, forcing shots quickly, and while they weren't falling, they were adding to the number of time the Mountaineers had to run back up the floor.

SMU had conditioned by fire, playing three games in four days at a brutal offensive pace. Getting such a long break after the Texas A&M game refreshed their legs, allowing the Mustangs to reap the benefits in the second half. Legs got heavy and shots stopped falling for West Virginia. 

In addition to shots not going down, the tightly contested drives of the first half opened up as defenders weren't able to keep up with the better conditioned Mustangs and couldn't get off the floor to contest shots that were blocked and altered in the first half. 

What began as an 11-point deficit became a 12-point win that could have been an even bigger final margin as the Mustangs showed mercy late. SMU will now face Wisconsin, a 65-41 winner over Virginia, in the finals of the Beach Division on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The game will air on FS1 and FuboTV.

PONY EXPRESS:

WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO CRUNCH TIME, LASHLEE TURNED TO STONE

DEFENSE STEPPED UP AGAINST MEMPHIS WHEN MUSTANGS NEEDED IT MOST

MAY NOT MATTER HOW MANY WINS PONIES RACK UP IN MAGICAL SEASON IF COURTS RULE AGAINST THEM

SMU FANS WILL HAVE ONE OF THEIR OWN TO CHEER AT U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH