SMU guard Paul McCoy drives past Tulane forward David Booker Saturday night in Moody Colliseum. The Mustangs defeated the Green Wave 60-51. (Kevin Todora)

A fumed Matt Doherty must have given his team a heck of a pep talk Saturday during halftime of the Mustangs’ matchup against the Tulane Green Wave at Moody Coliseum.

His team had committed 12 first-half turnovers and hit only 33 percent of its field-goal attempts, but still was tied with the Green Wave 21-21 going into the locker room.

Whatever Doherty said to his team seemed to work, as the Mustangs came out smoking in the second half, hitting nearly 80 percent of their shot attempts in a 60-51 victory.

Derek Williams began the half with a 3-pointer and finished with a team-high 17 points – 13 of them in the second half. He and freshman Paul McCoy hit 9-of12 shot attempts in the second half.

The Mustangs’ defense turned in one of its best performances of the season, tying a team record in a Conference USA game with 10 blocks – five by senior Bamba Fall. They out-rebounded the Green Wave 31-17 on the defensive boards.

However, Doherty still wasn’t happy with his team’s performance.

“I’m disappointed,” he said. “Against Rice, we played well and shot poorly [in a 69-57 loss]. “Tonight, we played poorly, but shot better…Until we get to be a tough-minded team, we’ll continue to be up and down.”

SMU travels to face conference foe Marshall at 7 p.m. Wednesday.