UNIVERSITY PARK -- A slow start didn't last long for the SMU men's basketball team. In fact, Tuesday's game against New Orleans quickly became methodical in favor of the Mustangs.

SMU did all the things it was supposed to do. It hit shots. It grabbed rebounds. It took advantage of opportunities. The result was a 77-64 victory over the Privateers at Moody Coliseum. SMU improved to 2-0 on the season and dropped New Orleans to 1-2 overall.

SMU won the game by switching up its defense early. New Orleans picked apart SMU's man-to-man defense with fundamental basketball -- backdoor cuts, picks and rebounding -- to take a 14-5 lead before the first media timeout.

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SMU, however, rallied back using a successful zone defense overall team play to take its first lead of the game, 20-19, on a CJ White drive with 9:53 om the first half. The Mustangs led, 39-33, at the halftime break.

SMU earned its first double-digit lead, 46-35, at the 17:50 mark of the second half after Tyson Jolly scored. The Mustangs led by as many as 14 in the half.

New Orleans managed to trim SMU's lead to six after a Gerrale Gates bucket with seven minutes to play. A poster dunk by Feron Hunt at the 4:23 mark and a follow-up 3-pointer by Isiaha Mike helped spark a final charge to put the game away.

Mike led all scorers with 22 points and made four 3-pointers. Mike also had eight rebounds, all on the defensive side. Jolly had 20 points in the win for the Mustangs.

Hunt had a big game for SMU, as he finished with a strong double-double, 14 points and 13 rebounds. He's now averaging 13.5 points and 11 rebounds through two games.

Troy Green had 20 points, and Damion Rosser added 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists for New Orleans.

SMU will look to close its three-game home stand to open the season on Saturday when it hosts Jackson State. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.