Papa Dia's heroic effort was not enough to upend Houston, as the Mustangs lost by a score of 70-68, falling to 1-2 in conference play. Come inside to get the full details on Dia's historic night and to see which record he now holds.
Just as he does every night, Dia gave it his all; however, he did something that he's never done before in his collegiate career.
When the buzzer sounded, Dia had accounted for seven blocks, which is the most blocks by a SMU player in C-USA play and third all-time by any SMU player in any ingle game.
But his seven blocks were just half of the story.
He added 23 points, moving into 27th place on SMU's all-time scoring list (1,098). His 23 points gives him eight career 20+ scoring nights in C-USA play, passing Derek Williams for most all-time 20+ point games in C-USA play by a SMU player. He also added 11 rebounds, giving him seven double-doubles in 2010 and 20 in his career.
Robert Nyakundi played well, scoring 22 points, hitting three 3-point field goals. He now has made 139 3FG in his career, putting him sixth overall all-time for SMU. This was his 13th straight game with double-digit scoring figures.
Collin Mangrum, in his first career start, went 6-11 from the field, scoring 13 points, his second-straight game with double-digit scoring figures.
Mike Walker heaved up a last second attempt from behind-the-arc, only to have it fall short. However, he did make a 3-point field goal, moving him into a tie for 10th place on SMU's all-time 3FG list (107), tying Damon Hancock.
SMU (10-7, 1-2) will take on the UAB Blazers (11-4, 1-1), who play ECU on January 17, on January 19.
- Josh Harvey -