Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 21 points, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers, and five players scored in double figures to lead SMU to an 96-76 victory over Tarleton State in Dallas the season opener for both teams Monday night.
B.J. Edwards and Boopie Miller each added 20 points for SMU, which shot 56% from the floor. Wichita State transfer Corey Washington scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 7-foot-2 center Samet Yigitoglu added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Mustangs.
Dior Johnson scored a game-high 23 points off the bench and Freddy Hicks had 15 points and five assists for Tarleton State, which shot just 39.2% overall and was just 8-of-26 from the floor (30.8%) in the second half. Chris Mpaka finished with 10 points and six rebounds and DJ Dormu also scored 10 points for the Texans.
SMU, which finished tied for fourth in the ACC with Wake Forest and North Carolina en route to an NIT berth last season, jumped out to a 10-6 lead behind 3-pointers by Edwards, an all-ACC Defensive Team preseason pick, and Pierre, the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year from Jacksonville State.
But Tarleton State, coming off an injury-plagued 12-20 campaign in the WAC, battled back to take a 30-28 lead with 6:26 left in the first half on a 3-pointer by Johnson.
The half featured 10 lead changes before the Mustangs went on a 15-4 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers by Pierre, the last one with three seconds to go, to take a 48-38 halftime lead.
SMU extended the lead to 63-51 on a jumper by Miller at the 13:34 mark of the second half but the Texans chipped away and used a 6-0 run to close to within 74-69 with 8:21 remaining.
But the Mustangs switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense that held Tarleton State without a field goal for over seven minutes. SMU put together a 12-2 run to build a 92-74 lead with 1:52 remaining and cruised to the finish line.
