21 Jan 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; SMU Mustangs forward Matt Cross (33) is defended by Louisville Cardinals Guard Terrence Edwards Jr. (5) During the second half at Moody Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III IIMAGN images Chuck Harris led the road with 20 points, Matt Cross published his second straight double double with 15 points and 14 returns and SMU registered a victory 76-65 over Cal on Wednesday evening in Dallas.
SMU (16-5, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) won for the fifth time in six matches. BJ Edwards (15 points, nine returns) and Boopie Miller (13 points) also made important contributions for Mustangs.
Cal (11-10, 4-6) saw his winning line with three matches come to an end. Rytis Petraitis pacade Golden Bears with 18 points and 10 returns. Jeremiah Wilkinson added 16 points and Jovan Blacksher Jr. Flipped in 13 points.
Golden Bears, who played without a leading goal scorer Andrej Stojakovic for a third straight match, built a lead of 21-17 for the first 13 minutes.
However, SMU went on a 16-3 driving over a four-plus minute stretch, highlighted by four 3 points. Harris and Cross made two deep balls each when Mustangs took 33-24 lead with 2:36 left in half.
Miller knocked down a 3-pointer late in the period, the sixth Trey in half for Mustangs, which led 39-29 at the break. SMU stopped in front of the second half.
Mustangs used a 6-0 driving to extend its lead to 53-40 with 13:43 left, covered with a two-handed alley-oop can by Kario Oquendo from a Harris pass.
Cal closed the gap to six points twice along the route, including pulling within 61-55 with just over five minutes left. But it was as close as the visitors would come.
Smu sealed it late. A driving layout with cross extended the lead to 73-63 with 1:12 left, and then Miller and Edwards were combined to make 3 out of 4 free throw at the last minute.
SMU improved to 3-1 throughout the series against Cal. This marked the first conference game between the programs and their first matchup since 2014 NIT semi -final.
Both teams return to Action Saturday when SMU hosts Stanford and Cal hosts Syracuse.
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