Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eastern suffers first loss of year

SMU pulls away late from Eagles

Schuyler Dixon Associated Press

DALLAS – Nic Moore and Keith Frazier helped SMU bounce back from a pair of losses in games that could have helped their NCAA tournament resume.

The No. 22 Mustangs are likely to fall out of the rankings despite a 77-68 victory against Eastern Washington on Saturday night.

“This is a long season,” Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown said. “We’ve got a lot of big games. Our goal is to get better.”

SMU (2-2) was good enough in a first-ever meeting with Eagles, who beat their first three opponents by a combined 110 points. Moore led the Mustangs with 22 points, while Frazier added a career-high 17 points.

The Mustangs, coming off road losses to No. 13 Gonzaga and Indiana, won the first of seven straight games at renovated Moody Coliseum, where SMU is 14-1 since it reopened last season.

“I think this is a good win against a quality team,” Brown said of the Eagles.

Tyler Harvey kept Eastern Washington (3-1) close with 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. He had consecutive 3-pointers to get the Eagles within five with less than 2 minutes remaining before his miss from long range helped the Mustangs hang on.

“Who knows if anybody comes in here this year and wins, but we have to be proud,” Eastern Washington coach Jim Hayford said. “You just have to do something super-special to pull out a win here.”

Frazier, a former Dallas high school standout who was the first big recruit for Brown with the Mustangs, scored seven straight SMU points early in the second half to help build a 13-point lead.