Southern Methodist 73, Hofstra 49

[January 20, 2014]  DALLAS — Southern Methodist 73, Hofstra 49: Markus Kennedy had 12 points and 12 rebounds as the host Mustangs cruised to the victory in a game originally rescheduled from Dec. 7 due to inclement weather.

Reserve center Cannen Cunningham chipped in 14 points and three blocks for SMU (14-4), which has won three games in a row — all by double digits. The Mustangs had two other double-digit scorers in Nic Moore (10 points) and Ben Moore (10).

Chris Jenkins paced Hofstra (6-12) with 14 points off the bench while Dion Nesmith added 11 and Zeke Upshaw had 10. The Pride, who entered having won back-to-back games for the first time this season, shot only 33.3 percent and committed 18 turnovers.

The game was essentially decided in the first half, as the Mustangs limited the Pride to 22.2 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 33-18 lead. Nothing worked offensively in the first half for Hofstra, which made exactly three shots from two-point range (3-of-13), 3-point range (3-of-14) and the foul line (3-of-9).

Nic Moore scored eight first-half points and Kennedy registered nine rebounds before the break. Nesmith made back-to-back 3-pointers to draw Hofstra within 38-24 a few minutes into the second half, but Kennedy and Cunningham accounted for all of the offense during an 8-0 run that eliminated any potential drama down the stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Mustangs are in the midst of playing three games in four days, as they won at Central Florida on Saturday and visit Rutgers on Tuesday. ... SMU, which entered the weekend leading the American Athletic Conference in rebounding margin (plus-9), dominated the boards in this one, 43-27. ... Moussa Kone had four blocks off the bench for Hofstra.

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