CHAMP CENTRAL
BRACKET
BOX SCORE
PLAY BY PLAY
NOTES
SMU QUOTES
TEMPLE QUOTES
PHOTO GALLERY
HIGHLIGHTS
SMU PRESS CONFERENCE
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Markus Kennedy scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half to lead No. 20 SMU into the finals of the American Athletic Conference tournament with a 69-56 win over Temple.
Cannen Cunningham and Yanick Moreira each added 11 points for the Mustangs (26-6), who came into the tournament as the league's regular-season champions.
Quenten DeCosey had 14 points for Temple (23-10), which lost for the first time in five games and now must wait to see if it has done enough to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
SMU trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, and didn't lead until Kennedy hit two free throws with 16:40 left in the game. That was part of an 18-4 run that turned a 34-31 deficit into a 49-38 lead and put the Mustangs in control.