Ryan Manuel scored a season-high 20 points and Markus Kennedy added 13 points with 11 rebounds as SMU galloped away from UCF 75-56 on Saturday night.
The Mustangs (18-4, 9-1 American Athletic Conference) remain a half-step behind Tulsa (16-5, 9-0) in conference.
Manuel was a near-perfect 9 of 10 from the field, adding four rebounds and four assists. Kennedy's rebounds were a season high and were a big part of SMU's 34-26 edge on the boards. The Mustangs controlled the paint, outscoring UCF 46-22, and 15-5 on second-chance baskets.
Yanick Moreira added 12 points for SMU and Nic Moore had 10 assists, tying his career best.
Freshman Adonys Henriquez who went to school at Orlando Christian Prep, led UCF (9-12, 2-8) with a career-high 22 points on six 3-pointers but was the only Knights player to reach double figures. The rest of the team shot 11 of 39. The Knights shot just 36 percent overall (19 of 53).