For the second straight time the Mustangs came close in a conference game but came up short. The Mustangs fell to the University of Texas-El Paso on Saturday night losing 72-67.
For the first time in four games, SMU got off to a solid start and took a 6-4 lead with 14:28 left in the first half and didn’t look back. The Mustangs took a three-point lead into halftime. But just three minutes into the second half, the Miners tied the game at 37. SMU was able to build another lead by as much as eight late in the second half, but the Miners came back again and with 4:05 left in the game took the lead for the first time.
This time there wasn’t a fault in the Mustang offense, but rather a lack of defense in the second half. SMU allowed UTEP to shoot only 33 percent in the first half; in the second half the Miners managed a 51.5 percentage. That led to 14 more second half points for UTEP.
After a lackluster performance in Orlando versus UCF, Devon Pearson showed up to play. Pearson, who scored 2 points in the loss to UCF, had an offensive explosion, leading the Mustangs with 16 points. Pearson completed his double-double effort with 11 rebounds.
Ike Ofoegbu continued his scoring, putting up 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds. But Ofoegbu’s game was not flawless. He shot only 8-14 from the free-throw line and contributed seven turnovers to the Mustang total.
The turnover total reached 24 for SMU against UTEP, who only committed 12. Fourteen of the turnovers came in the second half, and the Miners scored 20 points off turnovers in the second half and 28 for the game.
Head coach Matt Doherty said that “turnovers and lack of offensive rebounding” contributed to the loss. But Doherty did not seem too discouraged by the 0-4 start in Conference USA, “We’re not going to hang our heads,” said Doherty. “They can still look themselves in the mirror.”
The game’s very physical nature also forced the officials to get involved. The first half had 24 fouls called, leading to a game total of 45.
But Doherty saw this as a positive – the fouls weren’t a problem for SMU. “Ike [Ofoegbu] got their big guys in foul trouble,” said Doherty. Three Miners ended the game with four personal fouls.
As for the rest of conference play, Doherty still thinks that SMU can play a role in C-USA. Doherty inherited a team with only four conference wins last season. “[We] keep knocking on the door,” said Doherty, “and eventually we’ll knock that sucker down.”
The Mustangs will take their next step toward knocking down the door Wednesday against Tulane at Moody.
