Kario Oquendo's 25 points help SMU steamroll Notre Dame
February 20 - Kario Oquendo scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half, and behind an offensive onslaught, SMU had little trouble dispatching Notre Dame, 97-73, on Wednesday night in South Bend, Ind.
Despite the unavailability of leading scorer Boopie Miller -- who missed a second consecutive game with a foot injury -- SMU (20-6, 11-4 ACC) shot 58.6 percent from the floor, and made 17 of its first 25 field goal attempts to take a 50-25 lead into halftime.
The Mustangs galloped away from the Fighting Irish behind their efficient shooting, as Oquendo, Samet Yigitoglu, Matt Cross and Chuck Harris scored in double figures.
SMU reached the 20-win mark with the victory, recording consecutive 20-win campaigns for the first time since 2015-2017.
Notre Dame (11-15, 5-10) lost for the fifth time in the last six games, struggling to contain the ACC's top-scoring offense, as the Irish allowed 90 points at home for the first time since Feb. 11, 2023.
Offensively, while Notre Dame closed on a 14-8 run and outscored SMU, 48-47, in the second half, the Irish were just 7-of-22 in the first 20 minutes. Braeden Shrewsberry led Notre Dame with 21 points.
SMU flexed its offensive strength often in the first 10 minutes, putting together a game-shifting 19-2 run over an eight-minute span that took the Mustangs' lead from 6-3 to 25-5.
Oquendo stepped up in that stretch, hitting a 3-pointer at the 15:38 mark and scoring on a three-point play that bookended the run. And that came after he slammed a two-handed dunk off a B.J. Edwards steal in the first two minutes of the half. By the intermission, Oquendo had 15 points, shooting a flawless 6-of-6 from the field.
The Mustangs maintained the offensive momentum, including a 7-0 run late in the half. Yigitoglu's short-range floater was followed by a 3-pointer from Harris and a fast-break layup from Edwards. From the 5:59 mark until halftime, SMU's lead remained above 20.
In control, the Mustangs cruised through the second half. While unable to replicate their first-half shooting percentage of 72.4 percent, the lead was never in question. SMU widened its advantage to as many as 34 with 8:09 left, when Oquendo's third 3-pointer of the evening dropped.
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