DALLAS — Nic Moore had 25 points and 11 assists to lead No. 16 SMU to a 69-60 victory over Gonzaga on Saturday night, snapping the Zags’ six-game winning streak in a non-conference matchup of league leaders.
Moore put the Mustangs (21-3) ahead for good with a jumper, breaking a 46-all tie and starting a run of him scoring or assisting on six straight baskets. The 5-foot-9 senior guard added two free throws to push the lead to 61-52.
Gonzaga (20-6) might have missed a chance to rejoin the Top 25 and send SMU tumbling out, with the Mustangs coming off their first home loss of the season against Tulsa.
Domantas Sabonis had 20 points and 16 rebounds in just the second loss in nine road games for the Zags. Kyle Wiltjer, the No. 11 scorer in Division I, had a season-low four points on 2-of-17 shooting.
Ben Moore scored 16 points for the American Athletic Conference-leading Mustangs, including an alley-oop dunk from Shake Milton for the first basket of the game. Jordan Tolbert also had an alley-oop slam on an assist from Nic Moore during the decisive run and finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
After his go-ahead jumper, Nic Moore ended up with the loose ball on a rebound and started up the floor, lofting a pass to Ben Moore in transition for a reverse layup and a 50-46 lead.
The alley-oop slam by Tolbert was followed up by an easy layup for Markus Kennedy on another nifty pass from Nic Moore, who then scored seven straight SMU points. Nic Moore had 27 points in the loss to Tulsa on Wednesday.
Wiltjer missed three straight long jumpers — two from beyond the arc — off three consecutive offensive rebounds in the first half. He was 1 of 14 before hitting a running bank shot similar to his first basket for a 44-40 Gonzaga lead with 11:50 remaining.
SMU closed the first half on a 12-1 run for a 30-27 lead, with Kennedy and Tolbert each getting a three-point play.
Nic Moore had a bucket and two free throws when Sabonis was issued a flagrant foul on review during a timeout after hitting Jarrey Foster in the head with an elbow while swinging around after a rebound. Kennedy was called for a foul on the play before the timeout.
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