The SMU men’s basketball team extended its losing streak to five games with a loss to the East Carolina Pirates last night. The Pirates (9-17, 3-10) beat the Mustangs (8-18, 2-11) by a final score of 82-54.

Entering the game, SMU and East Carolina were tied for 10th place in the conference. The loss knocks the Mustangs down another place in the conference standings. Only Rice, which is winless, has a worse conference record.

Unlike previous games against UAB and Southern Mississippi, the Mustangs were dominated from the outset of the game. The Pirates outscored the Mustangs 47-22 in the first half while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field.

Senior guards Cory Farmer and Darrell Jenkins led the Pirates in the half. Farmer led the Pirates with 14 points in the half. Jenkins led the Pirates by distributing the ball and racking up nine assists in just the first half. He finished the game with 11 assists.

The large scoring difference was a result of high turnovers and low percentage shooting. SMU shot 32 percent from the field and only 20 percent from behind the arc. Also, many of East Carolina’s points came in transition off SMU’s 12 turnovers.

In the second half, the Mustangs were able to play about even with East Carolina. SMU junior center Bamba Fall anchored the Mustangs’ defense in the half by rejecting three shots.

In the second half, the Mustangs turned the ball over only four times and lost the half by a score of 35-32. The number of turnovers in a half has been directly correlated to the Mustangs’ performance in individual halves and the overall game.

Freshman forward Papa Dia led the Mustangs in points with 16 and in rebounds with six. Senior guard Derrick Roberts also chipped in with 12 points.

The Pirates featured a balanced scoring attack Wednesday night with five players reaching double figures. Farmer led the way for the Pirates with 20 points on 7-8 shooting.

The Mustangs return home Saturday when they host the University of Texas at El Paso Miners at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.