Recap: East Carolina Edges SMU, 72-69

SMU fell to 3-9 in conference play after a close loss at home to East Carolina on Saturday

DALLAS (AP) — Akeem Richmond came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points, leading East Carolina to a 72-69 victory over SMU on Saturday.

Since scoring 0 and 6 points in a pair of games earlier this month, Richmond has averaged 21.5 points in his last four games, which have resulted in three wins and an overtime loss for the Pirates (16-10, 7-6 Conference USA).

Miguel Paul and Paris Campbell each added 11 points for East Carolina, and Robert Sampson had 11 rebounds.

Jalen Jones and Ryan Manuel scored 18 points apiece for SMU (13-14, 3-9). Jones also had 11 rebounds. Nick Russell added 16 points and a career-high nine assists.

The Mustangs pulled within 70-69 when Russell scored on a dunk with 13 seconds left, Manual made a steal and Russell scored again on a 3-pointer.

Maurice Kemp hit two free throws with 8 seconds left for East Carolina before SMU missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.