No. 25 SMU 75, Houston 69: Markus Kennedy had 17 points and six rebounds as the visiting Mustangs took over first place in the American Athletic Conference.

Nic Moore added 15 points for SMU (20-5, 11-2 AAC), which had to hold off Houston's late comeback attempt. Ryan Manuel chipped in 10 points and Ben Moore went 4-of-4 from the floor for nine points.

Jherrod Stiggers led Houston (9-14, 1-10) with 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the 3-point line. LeRon Barnes added 14 points and Devonta Pollard had 13 points off the bench.

SMU hit its first six shots of the second half, the last a Sterling Brown 3-pointer for a 47-37 lead 5 1/2 minutes in and Kennedy's fast-break dunk highlighted another 10-3 run as SMU built a 57-40 lead with 11 minutes left. L.J. Rose hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Cougars get within 61-52 and after SMU got a pair of easy dunks, Houston went on a 12-3 run to cut the lead to 68-64 with 3:57 left.

Kennedy hit four free throws in the final 1:30 and Nic Moore added a shot-clock beating runner to help hold off the Cougars. The Mustangs never trailed and broke a 10-all tie by scoring on four straight possessions to start a 10-3 run, capped by Cannen Cunningham's steal and layup for a 20-13 lead with 8:47 left in the first half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: It is the earliest calendar date for SMU to reach the 20-win mark, besting last year's date of Feb. 14. ... SMU shot 50 percent in the first half and led 33-27 at the break. ... SMU has won six straight road games.