DALLAS (AP) — Robert Nyakundi scored 14 points and Southern Methodist opened the game with a 25-7 run en route to a 57-48 victory over UTEP on Saturday.
The Mustangs (13-18, 4-12 Conference USA) will enter next week’s conference tournament as either the 11th or 12th seed, while UTEP (14-16, 7-9) will be the No. 8 or No. 9 seed.
Nyakundi opened the game with a pair of 3-pointers and a two-point basket as SMU took a 10-2 lead. Rodney Clinkscales finished off the opening-game surge with back-to-back 3-pointers that put the Mustangs ahead 25-7 with 6:38 remaining in the half.
UTEP, which hit just 3 of 13 shots and had five turnovers during that stretch, pulled within 33-24 by halftime but fell behind by as many as 21 points in the second half.
