Nic Moore added 11 points for Southern Methodist (13-4, 3-2 AAC), which won despite shooting 2-of-10 from 3-point range. Ben Moore and Nick Russell each added eight points to the winning effort.

Tristan Spurlock had 11 points to lead Central Florida (9-7, 1-4), which was hurt by the loss of leading scorer Isaiah Sykes to a head injury early in the second half. Sykes, who averages 16.1 points, had six points when he went out of the game after banging heads with an SMU player.

The first half was tight with five lead changes and six ties as both teams struggled offensively. The teams were tied at 22 at the break, with both playing very sloppy in the first 20 minutes.

It was close in the second half until the Mustangs went on a 15-3 run to take a 50-37 lead with just over five minutes to play. The Knights went more than 10 minutes without a field goal, finally getting a basket with 1:46 to play, but the game was already decided.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Moore was called for a technical foul with 1.8 seconds left after he was fouled and had something to say to Knights players. … The Knights came in averaging 13 turnovers but committed 19 in the loss. … The game started a stretch of three contests in four days for the Mustangs, who will host Hofstra on Sunday in a game that was originally scheduled for Dec. 7 but was postponed due to inclement weather.