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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Southern Methodist University men's basketball |
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team enjoyed an outstanding 2014-2015 season, as it claimed the |
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American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament |
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championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament; and |
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WHEREAS, Under the direction of head coach Larry Brown, the |
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Mustangs entered the year with a determined focus after narrowly |
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missing out on a berth in the 2014 NCAA Tournament; the team |
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combined an efficient offense and an aggressive defense to compile |
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24 regular season wins and capture the AAC regular season title with |
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a 15-3 record in league play; and |
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WHEREAS, SMU began the postseason as the No. 1-seeded squad |
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in the AAC Tournament, held in Hartford, Connecticut; there, the |
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team earned victories over East Carolina and Temple to set up a |
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finals matchup with the defending national champions from the |
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University of Connecticut; the Mustangs jumped out to an early lead |
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and withstood a late rally from their opponent to win 62-54 and |
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claim the school's first conference tournament championship and |
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first NCAA Tournament bid since 1988; and |
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WHEREAS, The sixth-seeded Mustangs then faced off against |
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UCLA in the second round of the "Big Dance"; the team fought back |
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from a halftime deficit to take a late lead before seeing their |
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memorable season come to a close with a loss; the team finished the |
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2014-2015 campaign with an impressive overall record of 27 wins and |
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just 7 defeats; and |
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WHEREAS, Driving the SMU attack throughout the year was |
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junior guard Nic Moore, who was named AAC Player of the Year after |
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leading the team in scoring, assists, free-throw percentage, and |
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minutes played; moreover, teammate Markus Kennedy was selected as |
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the AAC Sixth Man of the Year, and center Yanick Moreira earned the |
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conference's Most Improved Player honor; and |
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WHEREAS, Demonstrating tremendous talent and dedication, the |
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SMU Mustangs worked together on the court to elevate the |
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university's basketball program to new levels of success, and their |
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accomplishments are a source of great pride to their many fans in |
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North Texas and across the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate the Southern Methodist University |
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men's basketball team on its achievements during the 2014-2015 |
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season and extend to the team's players, coaches, and staff sincere |
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best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the team as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |
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Meyer |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1762 was adopted by the House on May |
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7, 2015, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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