SMU Basketball goes 3-0 on Spain trip

BARCELONA, Spain (SMU) – SMU men’s basketball finished 3-0 on its three-game exhibition tour in Spain. The Mustangs won 88-77 in Madrid, 125-66 in Valencia and 92-60 in Barcelona. For the three games, the Mustangs shot 50.2% from the field, averaged 15.7 steals and had a plus-21.7 rebound margin (55.7-34.0).

Samuell Williamson averaged 16.0 points to lead the team in scoring, while pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game and shooting 62.5% (20-32). Zhuric Phelps added 15.7 points per game while totaling seven assists and six steals in the three contests. Tennessee transfer B.J. Edwards led with 6.0 assists per game while also averaging 5.3 points and 6.0 rebounds with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Edwards nearly had a triple-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) in the game in Valencia. Jalen Smith averaged 8.3 points and finished with seven assists against zero turnovers while knocking down two of his five three point tries.

Georgia State transfer Ja’Heim Hudson contributed 9.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, recording his tour-best 12 boards in the final contest. Butler transfer Chuck Harris scored 11.0 per game and averaged 2.0 assists while hitting 5-of-6 on free throws. Oklahoma State transfer Tyreek Smith a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game with 6.7 points. Georgetown transfer Denver Anglin added 6.7 point and an assist per outing. Xavier Foster had a team-high four blocked shots in the three games while adding 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per matchup. Keon Ambrose-Hylton shot 56.3% from the field (9-16) while averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Ricardo Wright added 5.3 points and 1.3 assists. Mo Njie contributed 3.0 rebounds, including his tour-best seven in the win in Valencia. Emory Lanier had eight points, five assists and two steals for the trip. Jackson Young knocked down a pair of threes in Barcelona. Trey Utter scored in his first appearance in the victory in Valencia.

In the finale at Barcelona, SMU shot 46.8% and recorded 21 assists on 36 field goals en route to a 92-60 victory. Chuck Harris led with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Zhuric Phelps followed with 14 points, five assists and a pair of steals. Jalen Smith had a team-high four steals with nine points while Ja’Heim Hudson had a game-high 12 rebounds. Tyreek Smith had two of the Mustangs’ four blocked shots in the game while grabbing six boards and scoring seven points. The team recorded 15 steals with Harris, Phelps, Samuell Williamson and B.J. Edwards totaling two takeaways each.

In Valencia, the Mustangs shot 53.4%, had 82 points in the paint and a 62-33 rebound advantage in the 125-66 victory versus Crudeli Academy. The game was played at Alqueria del Basket SMU had six score in double figures as Samuell Williamson led with 26 points and Zhuric Phelps added 21 while getting 10 each from Keon Ambrose-Hylton, Ricardo Wright, Tennessee transfer B.J. Edwards and Georgetown transfer Denver Anglin. Edwards nearly recorded a triple-double as he also had team highs of 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals with just one turnover. Phelps was 9-18 shooting for his 21 points while grabbing two steals and three rebounds. Williamson scored his 26 points on 12-17 shooting, including 2-4 on threes while collecting seven boards and three steals.

In the opening game against Madrid, SMU shot 49.3% from the field, had a 47-30 rebound advantage and 13 steals. The Mustangs were up 44-34 at halftime and by as many as 22 points with under seven minutes left. Samuell Williamson led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds. Ja’Heim Hudson added 13 points and seven boards while Tyreek Smith had a team-high 12 rebounds to go with nine points. Zhuric Phelps had 12 points and a pair of steals in just 19 minutes. Hudson had three steals while Jalen Smith, Phelps and Williamson had two each. B.J. Edwards had a team-high seven assists with six rebounds in the tour-opening victory.

During the trip, the travel party visited historic sites in each city. Highlights included Madrid’s Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza Mayor and Royal Palace as well a tour of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid, the Port of Valencia and a tour at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Photos and videos from the Mustangs’ trip can be seen on Instagram (smubasketball) and Facebook (smubasketball).

The Mustangs are entering the second season under Head Coach Rob Lanier. The Mustangs return three starters in Zhuric Phelps, Samuell Williamson and Jalen Smith plus a transfer class ranked as high as No. 2 in The American.

In non-conference play, the Mustangs will host Dayton and Texas A&M at Moody Coliseum plus a road game at Arizona State. SMU will also play in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Nov. 20-22, facing West Virginia and then Wisconsin or Virginia.

The American Athletic Conference recently announced the 18-game schedule format for 2023-24. SMU will play five conference opponents twice: East Carolina, Memphis, North Texas, Tulane and UAB. The Mustangs will play home games only against Charlotte, Temple, Tulsa and UTSA, and play road games only versus Florida Atlantic, Rice, South Florida and Wichita State.

SMU press release.