SMU's Sterling Brown ejected for leaving the bench during scuffle

With 7:11 remaining in the first half against Cincinnati, SMU junior guard Sterling Brown was ejected from the game for leaving the bench during a scuffle between the two sides.

Brown's disqualification put SMU's perfect season in jeopardy, but the Mustangs held the Bearcats to a single field goal over the final four minutes of regulation, earning a hard-fought 59-57 win and improving to 14-0 on Thursday night.

At the time of the incident, Brown was at the scorer's table preparing to check in to the game. He was clearly seen walking on the floor in the direction of the scrum.

Rule 4, Sect. 10, Art. 2 states, "Leaving the bench area during a fight situation as bench personnel but not participating in the fight" shall result in an automatic ejection.

SMU's Jordan Tolbert and Cincinnati's Coreontae DeBerry received offsetting technical fouls for their involvement in the incident.

Without Brown, SMU was left with only six scholarship players. The Mustangs lost a player earlier this week, as junior guard Keith Frazier left the team due to personal reasons.

SMU puts its unblemished record on the line on Sunday evening against UCF.