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SMU falls flat on first trip to Chapel Hill as ACC member, poor shooting continues at UNC in 82-67 loss

On3 imageby: Billy Embody01/08/25BillyEmbody
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Jan 7, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jalen Washington (13) blocks the shot of Southern Methodist Mustangs center Samet Yigitoglu (24) in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — SMU Basketball came off a poor shooting performance vs. Duke and on Tuesday at North Carolina, the Mustangs did it again. This time, SMU fell to UNC, 82-67.

The Mustangs finished 33 percent from the floor while the Tar Heels lit up the Smith Center for 47 percent from the field and 11-of-22 on three-point range. Even though SMU bounced back from the charity stripe to shoot 17-of-21, 4-of-18 from beyond the arc was ugly. The Mustangs attempted 12 more shots than the Tar Heels, but finished 23-of-69 from the field.

SMU was led by Matt Cross‘ double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), B.J. Edwards‘ 15 points and Chuck Harris‘ 18 points, but it was too little to overcome a UNC team that led 39:13 of the game.

SMU head coach Andy Enfield seemed like he was at a bit of a loss after the game, calling the shooting woes something the players have to figure out in their own way.

“Well, it’s something the coach can’t do. The players are playing the game. We missed dunks, we missed layups,” Enfield said in the postgame press conference. “We missed wide-open layups, we missed contested layups, we missed follow-ups. Then we missed wide-open 3s, and so our guys are better than that. They’re better scorers, they’re better finishers, and they’re better shooters. We shot well from the foul line, it’s the only thing we do well tonight from an offensive standpoint with 17-of-21. 

“We hope that Saturday we come out and play great, hold home court. We have to get back, it’s tough to win on the road, especially at North Carolina with the amount of talent that they have and especially when you don’t shoot the ball that well like we did tonight. We have to regroup and get ready for Saturday.”

Meanwhile, UNC’s strong shooting was led by R.J. Davis going for 26 points on 8-of-15 from the field, star freshman Ian Jackson adding 18 and wing Drake Powell notching 17 points.

SMU returns to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2 inside Moody Coliseum, looking to bounce back from two straight losses. The Mustangs are 11-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.

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