National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern Methodist 90, Kent St. 74
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Where: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials: # John Gwynn, # Matt Lee, # Justin Porterfield
Attendance: N/A

Senior guard Nic Moore compiled 25 points, eight assists and four steals to help No. 18 SMU beat Kent State 90-74 in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Classic on Tuesday night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Junior guard Keith Frazier came off the bench to post 19 points and 10 rebounds for SMU (10-0). Senior forward Jordan Tolbert had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Mustangs coach Larry Brown was back after serving a nine-game NCAA suspension to start the season.

Freshman guard Jaylin Walker scored 20 points to lead Kent State (7-3). Junior forward Jimmy Hall had 13 points.

SMU jumped out to a 10-2 lead over the first 2:19 and went up 16-6 on a jumper by Moore. Kent State cut the deficit to three on a 3-pointer by senior guard Xavier Pollard with 7:02 to go before the break, but the Mustangs responded with an 11-1 run and extended their lead to 14 points on a 3-pointer by Frazier with 2:35 remaining until halftime.

The Mustangs led 41-33 at intermission and regained a double-digit lead early in the second half. The Golden Flashes battled back to get within five on a layup by senior forward Chris Ortiz with 15:01 to go, but the Mustangs answered with an 8-0 run to take control.
Top Game Performances
 
Kent St.   Southern Methodist
Jaylin Walker 20 Scoring Nic Moore 25
Xavier Pollard 5 Assists Nic Moore 8
Jaylin Walker 6 Rebounds Keith Frazier 10
Jaylin Walker 5 Free Throws Made Jordan Tolbert 10
Jimmy Hall 2 Steals Nic Moore 4
Chris Ortiz 1 Blocks Markus Kennedy 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Kent St. 74 45.3 9-19 17-28 16 27 2 6 17
Southern Methodist 90 50.0 7-14 25-31 17 39 3 9 14