No. 20 Louisville tightens defense in second half to outlast SMU

No. 20 Louisville rallied from a 47-44 halftime deficit with tight defense to outlast SMU 88-74 at home. After SMU shot 59.4% before halftime to grab the lead, Louisville held the Mustangs to 36.7% in the second half (11-for-30) and took control with a key run.

SMU held a 12-point lead in the first half and rallied back early in the second half from a six-point deficit to lead 62-61 on a Samet Yigitoglu put-back with 9:47 to play. However, Louisville followed with a 10-0 run in just over two minutes to take control of the game.

Ryan Conwell completed a three-point play to start the run, then Aly Khalifa drilled a 3-pointer just as Khani Rooths was fouled off the ball. Rooths made both free throws for a rare five-point possession, and Khalifa sank another jumper to finish the run. SMU would never pull closer than six points for the rest of the game.

Louisville (15-6, 5-4) was led by freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr., in his third game back from a back injury that caused him to miss eight games. Brown scored 20 points, including three 3-pointers, while dishing out four assists. Brown had five turnovers in the first half but had none after intermission while scoring 12 of his points in the second period.

Guard Isaac McKneely scored 14 points, including 4-for-9 3-point shooting. Conwell shot just 4-for-15, but contributed a dozen points, as did Rooths, who also pulled 10 rebounds. J'vonne Hadley added 10 points.

SMU (15-6, 4-4) was paced by Boopie Miller's 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Yigitoglu tallied 14 points and eight rebounds. Corey Washington added 13 points, including 3-for-8 3-point shooting. BJ Edwards notched 13 points and eight rebounds but didn't score after halftime.

SMU committed 16 total turnovers, with 10 of those coming after halftime.