Cincinnati holds on late, beats SMU 54-52

DALLAS (AP) — Landers Nolley II knocked down a 3-pointer with three-and-a-half minutes to play and it proved to be the game-winner as Cincinnati held on for a 54-52 win over SMU on Saturday.

The Bearcats held a 54-49 lead but did not score again in the game and the Mustangs managed just a Stefan Todorovic 3 with 1:26 remaining.

Nolly finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Bearcats (13-6, 4-2 American Athletic Conference). Mika Adams-Woods added 16 points while shooting 6 for 9, including 4 for 7 from beyond the arc, and he also had four steals. Viktor Lakhin shot 3 of 9 from the field to finish with six points.

Zach Nutall led the way for the Mustangs (6-12, 1-4) with 13 points and three steals. Zhruic Phelps added 11 points and five steals for SMU. Efe Odigie also had 10 points.

Adams-Woods put up 10 points in the first half for Cincinnati, who led 29-27 at the break. Cincinnati used an 8-0 second-half run come back from a one-point deficit and take the lead at 37-30 with 17:25 left in the half before finishing off the victory. Nolley scored eight second-half points.

NEXT UP

Both teams next play Wednesday. Cincinnati visits South Florida and SMU visits Tulsa.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.