By DARRELL MOODY
Appeal Staff Writer
FRESNO - You won't find a better shooting team in the WAC these days than SMU.
Since Mike Dement was fired on Feb. 27, the Mustangs have shot better than 50 percent in three of of their four games under interim head coach Robert Lineberg.
SMU, thanks to Bryan Hopkins' 30 points, continued its torrid shooting with a 68 percent effort in the second half en route to a 79-60 win over Tulsa Tuesday night in the first round of the WAC tournament at the Save Mart Center.
The Mustangs, 12-17, meet Nevada Thursday at noon in a quarterfinal game. Tulsa, which lost 10 of its last 12 games, finishes 9-20.
"I'm very pleased with how we executed in the second half," Lineberg said. "At no point this year did we shoot 68 percent from the floor. We've got two good passing big men (Patrick Simpson and Eric Castro), and we found each other well. We talked about not just getting good shots, but great shots, and that's what we got.
"In the last week and a half, we've talked about getting back to playing the type of basketball that we were playing when we beat Purdue and Texas Tech (in December). We've emphasized taking care of the ball and taking good shots. I don't think it's so much match-ups as it is getting good looks at the basket."
Of course it helps when you have a guy like Hopkins who can light it up.
Hopkins missed just one shot in the first half, finishing with 16 points to lead SMU to a 34-31 halftime lead. Tulsa started in a man-to-man against Hopkins and then went to a box-and-one against him.
"I got hot for a while, and the rim got wide," Hopkins said.
"Hopkins started off really hot," said Tulsa's Jason Parker. "We figured he wouldn't be able to do that the entire game, but he proved us wrong. Like coach (Phillips) said, he's a great player."
Simpson, who finished with 20 on 9-for-15 shooting, scored two buckets and Hopkins drained a three to lead a 13-2 run and give the Mustangs a 51-42 lead with 10:48 left in the game. SMU went on a 7-0 run to increase the lead to 63-48. Hopkins had a bucket and three ball in that span.
WOMEN
BOISE STATE 59, HAWAII 56
Cassidy Blaine sank a three-point field goal with six seconds left, snapping a 56-all tie and giving the No. 9 Broncos a narrow win over No. 8 Hawaii in an opening round game.
Hawaii was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer. Boise, 9-19, advances to play Louisiana Tech today at noon.
April Atuaia drained a three-point field goal with 24 seconds left, tying the game at 56. Cassidy had her shot blocked by Hawaii's Pam Tambini with 10 seconds left, and the ball went out of bounds. Jodi Nakashima found Cassidy in the right corner, and she sank the game-winner.
"I knew that if I got a wide-open shot I was going to take it," Cassidy said. "Our posts were doing a good job of distracting them so we were able to get a good look. When the game is on the line, you just have to step up."
Michelle Hessing led Boise with 16 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes, and Nadia Begay added 13 thanks to three three-pointers. Cassidy finished with nine points.
"I think this was an important game for us," said Jen Warden, BSU head coach. "We are building this program with a new system and you really want to see the kids be successful. I'm proud of them for finishing the game all the way through.
"Michelle has been tremendous for us this year. She always wants to get better. I think she is developing into the kind of player we think she can be, which is a dominating center in the WAC."