Miller, Edwards fuel SMU past Tarleton State 96–76 in opener

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DALLAS (AP) — Boopie Miller and B.J. Edwards each scored 20 as SMU handled Tarleton State 96–76 on Monday in a series opener for both teams.

Edwards went 7 of 12 from the field and 4 of 5 at the line with four assists, while Miller finished 4 of 9, hit a perfect 11-11 free throws and added five rebounds.

Corey Washington gave the Mustangs punch at the rim with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, and center Samet Yigitoglu posted 12 points, eight boards and three blocks.

Jaron Pierre Jr. drilled a corner 3 with three seconds left in the first half to send SMU to the break up 48–38. Early in the second, Yigitoglu’s layup and Edwards’ 3 pushed the lead to 58–47, and Washington followed with a 3-pointer and an and-one layup to make it 71–60 with 11:17 left. SMU kept control from there, closing it out at the line and holding the margin near 20 for the final minutes.

SMU shot 56.0% from the floor and 39.0% from downtown (7 of 18). The Mustangs won the glass 31–30, totaled 22 assists against 11 turnovers and protected the paint with six blocks.

Tarleton State was led by Dior Johnson’s 23 points off the bench (6 of 12, 8 of 8 FT). Freddy Hicks added 15 points and five assists, going 13 of 15 at the line, and DJ Dormu scored 10. The Texans shot 39.0% overall, 39.0% from behind the arc and 83.0% on free throws but couldn’t string stops after SMU’s late-half 3 and steady second-half answers.

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