Nov. 20, 2009

FLORIDA GULF COAST Eagles (0-2) at SMU Mustangs (0-2) - Sat. Nov. 21 - 7 p.m. - Moody Coliseum (8,998) - Dallas, Texas - Radio: KAAM 770 AM (Allen Stone, Herman Hudson) - Internet: SMUMustangs.com

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

The SMU Mustangs host Florida Gulf Coast at Moody Coliseum on Saturday at 7 p.m. This is the third of six straight home games to open the season. The Mustangs will have a quick turnaround as Huston-Tillotson comes to Moody Coliseum for a 7 p.m. game on Monday.

THE SERIES: SMU and Florida Gulf Coast are meeting for the first time.

LAST MEETING: N/A

LAST GAME (NOV. 16, L 80-68 vs. TEXAS A&M): DALLAS (AP) -- Donald Sloan scored 24 points and Derrick Roland contributed 21 to lift Texas A&M to an 80-68 victory over SMU Monday night. The Dallas natives led the way in the Aggies' first game at SMU since 1996. The schools are former Southwest Conference rivals. Roland made all eight of his free throws and Sloan hit three 3-pointers for the Aggies (2-0). B.J. Holmes added 11 points with three 3-pointers for Texas A&M. Texas A&M led 36-26 at halftime, and after the Mustangs (0-2) got within four points twice, stretched the lead back out to double digits. Roland scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Mouhammad Faye scored 21 points and Paul McCoy added 20 for SMU.

THREE SIGNEES FOR 2010-11: SMU Head Coach Matt Doherty announced that three players have signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play for the Mustangs beginning with the 2010-11 season. Leslee Smith (6-7, 245) is a forward at Christian Life Center Academy in Humble, Texas; Ricmonds Vilde (6-9, 230) is a forward from Latvia now attending Lee Academy in Maine; and Aliaksei Patsevich (6-4, 180) is a guard from Belarus playing at Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas. All three members of the class have international experience. Smith helped his British Virgin Islands National Team to a silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships. Patsevich and Vidle have played in European Championships. Patsevich is a freshman at Collin County and will have three years to play at SMU. "I think this recruiting class gives us a group of skilled players with some toughness and basketball savvy," says Doherty. "They are all tremendous people and should help us in our quest to become a Top-25 program once again. I am excited to coach each of these young men."

Notes from TEXAS A&M: 1 - Mouhammad Faye scored 21 points and Paul McCoy had 20. It was the first time two Mustangs had 20 points since the same duo (McCoy 32, Faye 23) in a 92-62 win over Texas A&M - Corpus Christi on Dec. 31, 2008. 2 - SMU outscored Texas A&M 24-20 in the paint and 12-7 on second-chance points. 3 - Mouhammad Faye extended his streak of double-figure scoring games to six.

QUICK TAKE 1 - Last season, a first-year player led the team in scoring in 27 of 30 games, which was the highest percentage in the nation. Paul McCoy led 12 times as a freshman, Derek Williams led in scoring 10 times as a junior, Mouhammad Faye three times as a junior, and Robert Nyakundi led twice as a redshirt freshman. 2 - Last season Paul McCoy led the team in scoring 12 times, tying the SMU record for a freshman. He averaged 13.4 points per game en route to becoming the first freshman to ever lead SMU in scoring. McCoy also earned two C-USA Rookie of the Week honors. McCoy was selected preseason All-Conference USA By Blue Ribbon Yearbook for the 2009-10 season. 3 - The Mustangs' roster was all recruited by head coach Matt Doherty, which includes a Conference USA All-Freshman Team honoree each of the last two seasons; Paul McCoy (2008-09) and Papa Dia (2007-08). McCoy anchored a class rated as high as No. 33 nationally and Dia headlined a class rated as high as No. 24. 4 - The Mustangs now feature a more experienced lineup with two seniors, five juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. The squad lost just one starter in Bamba Fall, a Conference USA All-Defensive Team selection. Overall, the squad returns six of its top seven scorers and 83.1 percent of last season's scoring, 67.9 percent of its rebounding, 90.1 percent of its assists, and 89.4 percent of its steals. 5 - The Mustangs improved in 13 of 19 statistical categories ranked by Conference USA from 2007-08 to 2008-09, including scoring, scoring defense, overall and 3-point field goal percentage, overall and 3-point field goal percentage defense, and rebounding margin. 6 - SMU has made 589 three-pointers in head coach Matt Doherty's first three seasons. That is the best mark for any 3-year period in SMU history. 7 - Senior Mouhammad Faye played for Senegal's National Team in the 2009 African Games in Libya. The Senegalese went 5-4 to finish seventh in the championship after winning Group C in the opening stage and winning Group F in the qualifying round. Faye was seventh in the tournament at 17.3 points per game while averaging 3.8 rebounds and shooting 46.7 percent. Faye also played for the Senegalese National Team in 2007 with Bamba Fall (2009 graduate). The 2007 squad finished ninth in the championships in Angola. 8 - For the second season, the NBA's Dallas Mavericks held training camp at SMU's Crum Basketball Center. 9 - The 2009-10 schedule includes at least 11 games against 2009 postseason teams and a minimum of 10 games against last season's RPI top-100 including Memphis, Tulsa and UNLV. The Ponies host 17 home games at Moody Coliseum, including eight games against Conference USA foes. The season starts with six consecutive home games, beginning with South Florida on Nov. 13 and Texas A&M on Nov. 16. Metroplex rival TCU visits Moody Coliseum for the State Farm DFW Duel on Dec. 2. 10 - The 2009-10 slate includes the inaugural Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu from Dec. 22-25. The Ponies face UNLV on ESPNU in the opening round on Dec. 22. The Mustangs then face either College of Charleston or Hawaii on Dec. 23. The squad's third matchup will be Northeastern, Saint Mary's, USC or Western Michigan on Dec. 25. 11 - Captains: Mouhammad Faye, Derek Williams and Paul McCoy were named team captains prior to the start of practice.

STREAKS: 10+points: Mouhammad Faye 6 (12*, 18*, 10*, 10*, 12, 21), Papa Dia (13), Paul McCoy (20) 8+ rebounds: Dbl-Dbl: 5+ assists: 3+ steals: 2+ blocks: *From 2008-09 Season

HEAD COACH Matt Doherty...is in his ninth season as a head coach and his fourth season at SMU. This is his 19th season in collegiate coaching with eight NCAA Tournaments, seven conference titles, a Final Four appearance and the 2001 AP National Coach of the Year award. He also has 22 players that have gone to the NBA. He has a 123-131 record including a 33-59 mark on the Hilltop.

FAMILIAR FOE: The Mustangs have met seven opponents more than 100 times. Rice 188 114-74 J20 @ Rice, F17 @ SMU TCU 184 101-83 D2 @ SMU Texas A&M 177 90-87 N16 @ SMU (L, 80-68) Baylor 175 100-75 Texas 174 71-103 Arkansas 153 59-94 Texas Tech 104 47-57

HONORS: 2009-10 Preseason All-Conference USA - Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook: Paul McCoy Preseason All-Conference USA - Orlando Sentinel: Paul McCoy (Third Team) 2008-09 (Returnees Only) C-USA All-Freshman Team Paul McCoy SMU Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team: Paul McCoy (17.0 pts, 3.3 ast, 3.0 reb, 2.3 stl, 69% FG (20-29), 50% 3FG (4-8) SMU Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team: Derek Williams (13.0 pts, 3.0 ast, and 1.3 steals, 14-35 FG (40%) C-USA Rookie of the Week (Nov. 24): Paul McCoy (17.0 pts, 3.3 ast, 3.0 reb, 2.3 stl, 69% FG (20-29), 50% 3FG (4-8) C-USA Rookie of the Week (Feb. 16): Paul McCoy (19.5 pts, 3.0 reb, 2.5 ast, 48% FG (15-31), 55% 3FG (6-11) - 29 points at UAB C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll Tomasz Kwiatkowski 2007-08 (Returnees Only) Conference USA All-Freshman - Papa Dia

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE: Mouhammad Faye: U.S. Rail club team won the 2005 Senegalese national championship Tomasz Kwiatkowski: Playing for High School #1 in Wloclawek, Poland, his team won the 2006 state championship and was the state runner-up in 2005 Paul McCoy: Grant HS in Oregon won the 2008 6A (large-class) state title, also part of the 2008 4x400m state championship relay and 2007 4x100m state championship relay team. Frank Otis: McClymonds HS in California won the 2008 state crown and was the 2007 state runner-up