Kendric Davis stars for SMU in critical 73-57 win over Memphis

Kendric Davis starred down the stretch in the first half for SMU, making back-to-back three-pointers to close out a 12-0 run, giving SMU a 37-32 halftime lead over Memphis on Sunday. That was just a sign of things to come.

The Mustangs built a massive lead over the Tigers in the second half. Another 12-0 run, a part of a 27-3 run in the second stanza gave SMU a 73-57 win. SMU’s latest win in Moody Coliseum came in blowout fashion over another bubble team with NCAA Tournament aspirations.

“Just a great effort. Great game, great crowd. And an important game as we all know,” head coach Tim Jankovich told reporters after the game. “This was a very, very important game for us. They’re all going to be really important coming down the stretch, but Memphis is an outstanding team and to get away from like we did, a heck of a night for our guys.”

Kendric Davis recovers to have huge night vs. Memphis

Kendric Davis finished with 27 points on 10-of-19 from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range. Helping his claim to American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors, 16 of Davis’ points came in the first half. After missing the Temple loss on Wednesday due to injury, Davis showed little signs of injury in his dominant performance.

This week, Kendric Davis didn’t practice Monday to Friday. Jankovich said he wasn’t really able to walk before the Temple game. He sat him out and despite having limited practice Saturday, Davis still had a monster game.

“This time of the year, maybe you don’t need that much practice,” Jankovich said after SMU wrapped up the sweep of Memphis in the regular season. “No. 2, how good of a player that he is. I wasn’t expecting that kind of a night out of him, but it just shows what a talent, what a competitor he is.”

While Davis didn’t have an assist — a rarity for him — that speaks to how he’s been able to move between facilitator and scorer.

“If you’re a guy like him, he does have a tricky dynamic, if that’s the right word,” Jankovich said. “Because most high assists guys are always in assist mode. Like when you’re playing, you’re looking, you’re looking, you’re finding and you’re always trying to make a play for someone else. Most high scorers most scorers, you’ve got to be in your scoring mentality where you’re aggressively seeking your shot on the ball, off the ball, whatever it is. It’s not that easy to flip that switch back and forth. He’s done it a lot since he’s been here.”

Front court gets huge contribution from Agunanne

Forward Marcus Weathers added 20 points and six rebounds while his brother, Michael, added six points and paced SMU’s rebounding effort with 10. Franklin Agunanne added eight points and seven rebounds.

Agunanne was a critical piece with his 19 minutes of action with forward Tristan Clark and guard Jalen Smith out.

“Franklin was so critical for us,” Jankovich said. “Obviously, Tristan was not able to play tonight. Jalen was not able to play tonight. And Franklin’s minutes, fantastic. Jahmar (Young) did a really good job. Marcus, of course, is Marcus. He just is going to impact the game in a big way.”

Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley and Jalen Duren all scored in double figures for Memphis with 13, 12 and 11 points, respectively.

With the win, SMU improved to 19-6 overall and 10-3 in AAC play. The Mustangs sit right before Houston for the No. 1 spot in the AAC after the Cougars beat Wichita State in double overtime on Sunday. Memphis fell to 15-9 overall and 9-5 in league play.

Up next for SMU is home game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT against Tulsa on ESPN+. Temple sits at 9-16 overall and 3-11 in AAC play after beating USF on Saturday.