No. 18 SMU beat Kent State 90-74 in Larry Brown's return
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Larry Brown returned from a nine-game suspension and No. 18 SMU remained unbeaten with a 90-74 win over Kent State on Tuesday night in the Las Vegas Classic.
Brown was suspended after the NCAA ruled in September that a former men's basketball administrative assistant completed online course work for a student to meet eligibility requirements. He received warm applause before the game from SMU fans making the trip while walking onto the court for the first time since last March's NCAA Tournament.
Nic Moore scored 25 points and Keith Frazier added 19 and 10 rebounds to lead SMU (10-0).
Jordan Tolbert added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the winners, while Ben Moore had 10 points.
SMU also shot from the field 29 of 58 for 50 percent, including 7 of 14 from 3-point range.
Jaylin Walker led Kent State (7-3) with 20 points.
SMU, which led throughout, outrebounded the Golden Flashes 40-30. The Mustangs lead the nation in rebounding.
The Mustangs started the game quickly, jumping to 14-4 advantage. The Golden Flashes cut their deficit to 22-19 with 7:17 until halftime. SMU responded with an 11-1 run, but only led 41-33 at halftime after Kent State ended the half scoring six of the final eight points.
The Golden Flashes cut the lead to 52-47 five minutes into the second half, but SMU was relentless the rest of the way, keeping the lead in double digits shortly after that Kent State run.
Moore had season-highs in assists and steals. This was Tolbert's fifth double-double of the season.