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No. 22 SMU routs Lamar in opener

Nov 15, 2014 - 1:33 PM Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Ben Moore had a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds to power No. 22 SMU to a 93-54 season-opening victory over Lamar on Friday.

Yanick Moreira finished with 19 points, six rebounds and two blocks, Cannen Cunningham had 15 points and Keith Frazier finished with 11 points for the Mustangs (1-0), who lost to Minnesota in the NIT championship game after barely missing the NCAA Tournament last season with a 27-10 record, including a 12-6 mark in conference play.

Anthony Holliday was Lamar's lone scorer in double digits with 12, Quan Jones scored nine points and Tyran de Lattibeaudiere and Donovan Ross both finished with six points and six rebounds for the Cardinals (0-1).

Lamar was without two of its best players from last season as leading scorer Nimrod Hilliard transferred to NC Central and forward Amos Wilson graduated. It was Tic Price's first game as head coach after serving as interim head coach for the final five games last season.

The Cardinals pulled within, 15-11, on de Lattibeaudiere's jumper at 11:53 but the Mustangs galloped away with a 15-point burst that was capped after Ben Emelogu drained a three and Nic Moore split a pair of free throws for a 41-16 game with 3:36 to play in the first half.

SMU held a 46-20 advantage heading into the break.

Ben Moore's jumper closed out a 16-3 run for a 72-34 lead midway through the second half and SMU ran its lead to 43 points on a pair of Ryan Manuel free throws with four minutes to play.

Game Notes

SMU improved to 4-0 against Lamar in the all-time series ... The Mustangs won a program-record 18 home games last season ... SMU shot 33-of-51 (64.7 percent) from the floor, while Lamar went 16-of-51 (31.4 percent).