Jaron Pierre Jr. had 21 points, and Boopie Miller scored 20 points and finished with nine assists to lead SMU to an 86-67 road victory at Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon.

Miller’s clutch shooting (7 for 11 from the field) and Pierre’s 8-for-11 shooting and five rebounds helped the Mustangs (16-7, 5-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap a brief two-game losing streak and pick up a needed victory to avoid damaging their NCAA Tournament hopes.

Pitt (9-15, 2-9 ACC) played without its leading scorer Brandin Cummings for the second consecutive game as he sat out with an ankle issue.

Cameron Corhen helped the Panthers pick up the slack on the scoring end with 15 points and was one of three scorers in double figures. But it wasn’t enough for reeling Pitt to score an upset and avoid its third consecutive loss.

A 9-0 run gave SMU its largest lead of the game at 61-41 with 11:18 left in the second half.

The Panthers trimmed the Mustangs’ lead to 14 three different times midway through the second half, but SMU hit a clutch shot each time. B.J. Davis-Ray and Miller each hit triples to keep Pitt from rallying, with the latter long-distance shot giving the Mustangs a 76-58 lead with 5:35 left.

SMU, which entered the weekend 34th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, shot 57.1% (32 for 56) from the field overall, including a staggering 70.4% (19 of 27) in the second half.

The Mustangs were solid defensively, limiting Pitt to 36.1% shooting (22 for 61) overall, including 8 for 33 (24.2%) from 3-point range. Miller led the effort with three steals.

SMU used its athleticism in transition to pick up 25 fast break points, including 13 points off 12 Pitt turnovers.

Samet Yigitoglu totaled 15 points and eight rebounds, and Jaden Toombs had 10 points.

Barry Dunning Jr. scored 12 points and collected seven rebounds for the Panthers, while Nojus Indrusaitis added 10 points.

–Field Level Media

Milan Momcilovic scored 21 points as No. 7 Iowa State held on for a 72-69 win over Baylor in a Big 12 Conference tilt on Saturday in Ames, Iowa.

Joshua Jefferson tallied 15 points and Tamin Lipsey added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Cyclones (21-2, 8-2 Big 12) who won their fifth straight game.

Cameron Carr led Baylor (13-10, 3-8) with 24 points and hit 5 of 10 3-point attempts. Tounde Yessoufou added 17 points and five steals and Obi Agbim contributed 15 points for the Bears, who had their two game winning streak snapped.

Baylor shot 45.6% from the field and was 11 of 31 from 3-point range.

The Cyclones shot 50% from the field but were just 6 of 21 from the field.

Baylor reeled off an 11-0 rally in the final 1:42, sandwiched around 3-pointers from Carr and Yessoufou. But Iowa State inbounded the ball cleanly with 1.2 seconds remaining and the Bears couldn’t foul to stop the clock.

The Cyclones used a pair of second-half runs to shake off a persistent Baylor squad. A Momcilovic three punctuated a 7-0 Iowa State run and gave the Cyclones breathing room with a 57-49 lead. Iowa State’s defense tightened and kept the Bears in check before eventually pushing the lead to 15 with 3:04 left.

Yessoufou’s jumper sparked Baylor, but Blake Buchanan’s emphatic two-hand dunk off a Momcilovic miss got the Cyclones going again. Iowa State ripped off an 8-2 run and stretched its lead to 65-53. The Cyclones had a 14-8 edge on the offensive glass.

A tightly contested first half saw Baylor shoot 44.4% from the field (12 of 27) and 42.9% on 3-point attempts (6 of 14). Iowa State was slightly better at 46.4% (13 of 28) and 36.4% from behind the arc (4 of 11).

Baylor took its first lead at 21-19 on a Caden Powell offensive rebound putback. After the teams traded buckets, a deep 3-pointer from Yessoufou gave the Bears a 27-24 lead at the 7:23 mark.

Following a few calls that went against his team, Baylor coach Scott Drew picked up a technical foul at the 5:00 mark. Momcilovic hit the ensuing foul shots and tied the game at 27.

The Cyclones took a 37-33 lead into the locker room on a Nate Heise trey that capped an 8-3 scoring outburst.

–Field Level Media

Malik Reneau scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as the visiting Miami Hurricanes defeated the Boston College Eagles 74-68 in an ACC matchup on Saturday afternoon.

True freshman Shelton Henderson added 19 points and six rebounds for Miami (18-5, 7-3). In addition, Tre Donaldson recorded 14 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.

Donaldson had 13 of his points in the second half, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:31 left. Miami led the rest of the way.

Miami had lost its previous four games against the Eagles.

Boston College (9-14, 2-8), which has lost four straight games overall, was led by Donald Hand Jr., who scored 20 points, including 4-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers. Boden Kapke added a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

However, Boston College’s leading scorer, Fred Payne, was held to 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting.

Miami was without starting guard Tru Washington (personal reasons) and reserve Marcus Allen (cancer treatments). Allen, who turned 21 on Saturday, was at the game, supporting his teammates.

The Hurricanes led 34-33 at the break. Reneau led all first-half scorers with 13 points, and Henderson had 10. Donaldson had just one point, but he ran the show well with three passes that led directly to layups/dunks. He also faked out a Boston College defender badly on a baseline spin move.

Payne missed his first six shots, but he ended the half with six points. Kapke led Boston College with 11 points, making three buckets in the paint, two free throws and one 3-pointer.

For the first half, Miami was plus-nine on rebounds, but Boston College was plus-five on turnovers, and both teams scored 18 points in the paint.

In the second half, Miami made seven straight shots, taking a 50-40 lead with 11:57 left, forcing an Eagles timeout.

But Boston College came right back, cutting its deficit to 57-56 on a steal by Jayden Hastings and a fast-break layup by Payne, forcing a Miami timeout with 6:05 left.

After the timeout, Reneau missed his second dunk of the game, and Boston College took its first lead of the second half, 58-57, on a jumper by Hand.

But Donaldson’s 3-pointer put Miami up for good as the Hurricanes prevailed.

For the game, Miami was plus-11 on rebounds and won the battle for paint points, 44-30; and fast-break points, 11-7.

–Field Level Media