Senior Bamba Fall tied his season high of 16 points to lead the Mustangs, but it would not be enough as the University of Houston outworked SMU on its way to a 69-56 victory.

The Mustangs (7-15, 1-8) lost their first chance at back-to-back wins since Jan. 5 and have now lost six straight to the Cougars (15-7, 6-3).

The Mustangs began the game with a hot hand, scoring 20 points in the first nine minutes, but Houston tightened up their defense and held SMU to only 10 points for the rest of the half to take a 32-30 lead going into intermission.

In what has become a pattern for SMU, the Mustangs played well for much of the game, and seemed to fall apart in the second half.

“I think it’s a mental toughness thing,” said head coach Matt Doherty. “We’ve just got to be able to finish games out.”

After a Paul McCoy layup gave SMU a 42-41 lead with 13 minutes left, SMU went on an 8 minute scoring drought, ending with McCoy making two free throws at the 4:44 mark. During that time, Houston went on a 14-0 run to take control of the game. The Mustangs did not hit a shot from the field until a Derrick Williams 3-pointer with 1:41 left to play.

“I think it will come with experience,” said Williams. “The more we are in situations like this, the more we will learn how to handle them.”

Senior Bamba Fall re-emerged as an offensive threat for the Mustangs, scoring in double-digits for the first time since a 16-point performance against East Carolina on Jan. 24. Mouhammad Faye was a point away from a double-double, totaling nine points and a career high 13 rebounds.

Aubrey Coleman led the Cougars with 20 points, six of which came from the free throw line.