Sellers Hits Five Threes for 21, Patrick Goes 5-for-5 From Deep, and SMU Runs Away From VMI, 95-70, at Moody
The Mustangs turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and led by 19 anyway. Oziyah Sellers scored 21, Jacob Patrick needed 12 minutes to add 15 without missing a three, and SMU closed out VMI 95-70 on Thursday night at Moody Coliseum to move to 2-0. VMI's TJ Johnson scored his 1,000th career point in the loss.
SMU's second win of the season was a shooting exhibition wrapped around a sloppy start. The Mustangs beat VMI 95-70 on Thursday night at Moody Coliseum, leading by 19 at halftime despite committing 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, because when they kept the ball they could hardly miss: 53.2 percent from the field for the game and 14 of 29 from three-point range. Oziyah Sellers led the way with 21 points, going 5-for-7 from deep, and had 14 of them before the break on a perfect 4-for-4 start from beyond the arc.
The game's shape was set in one first-half swing. SMU led 18-7 when Sellers hit a three with 14:08 left in the half; VMI answered with a 12-5 run, capped by Paulius Narvilas free throws at 8:13, to pull within four. The Mustangs then scored the next 13 points — Johan Munch twice, David Terrell Jr. with a basket and a free throw — to rebuild the margin to 36-19, and a Jaden Toombs three with 1:09 left sent SMU in at 47-28. The Mustangs outshot the Keydets 58.1 percent to 19.4 percent in the half; VMI stayed within sight only at the foul line, outscoring SMU 14-2 there before halftime.
The second half had one moment of suspense. SMU stretched the lead to 24 early, VMI trimmed it to 64-46 with 11:04 to play, and that was as close as it got — SMU's depth closed the door. Jacob Patrick poured in 15 points in just 12 minutes, hitting all five of his three-point attempts. Jermaine O'Neal Jr. added 14, Jakub Szumert 12 and Toombs 10. Rowan Brumbaugh's three-point play with 16:28 left in the half had pushed the lead to 58-34 and started the procession.
VMI (1-1) leaves Dallas with a milestone. Senior TJ Johnson led the Keydets with 19 points and scored his 1,000th career point in a VMI uniform at the free-throw line with 2:11 left in the first half, extending a nine-game double-digit scoring streak. Rickey Bradley Jr. added 13 and AJ Clark 11 for a VMI team that shot just 28.6 percent from the floor but a season-best 87.9 percent (29-of-33) from the stripe. SMU is 2-0, in the second game of six straight at home to open the season. VMI closes its Texas road stretch at UTSA on Saturday.
