SMU beats No. 21 Louisville 95-85 for another home win over a ranked ACC opponent

DALLAS (AP) — Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 25 points and Boopie Miller had 23 points with nine assists as SMU beat No. 21 Louisville 95-85 on Tuesday night, ending the Cardinals' five-game winning streak.

SMU (18-8, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) went ahead to stay on Miller's short floater in the lane with 6:19 left that broke a 76-all tie. That was the second of six consecutive made field goals by the Mustangs, including a pair of 3-pointers by Corey Washington, who finished with 18 points.

Miller's alley-oop pass to Pierre for a dunk with 1:49 remaining pushed the lead to 91-83 and sent the already-loud Moody Coliseum crowd into a real frenzy.

It was the Mustangs' second win at home over a ranked ACC opponent this season, and could be significant in their push to reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2017. They beat then-No. 12 North Carolina 97-83 on Jan. 3, which was their first victory over a Top 25 opponent under second-year coach Andy Enfield.

Standout freshman Mikel Brown Jr. had 29 points for Louisville (19-6, 8-5), whose winning streak started with an 88-74 home win over SMU on Jan. 31. J'Vonne Hadley had 14 points and nine rebounds, while Ryan Conwell scored 12.

Brown has 29 points in back-to-back games since matching a Louisville single-game record and ACC freshman record with 45 points against North Carolina State on Feb. 9.

In a game with 17 lead changes and 16 ties between the ACC's two highest-scoring teams, Louisville went up 74-73 on Brown’s driving reverse layup through defenders with eight minutes left. Less than a minute later, Brown took the ball away from Miller when SMU's senior guard went up in the air while driving toward the basket.

The Mustangs led 52-49 at halftime.