Wednesday, February 15, 2012 9 (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

The SMU men’s basketball team broke many records last night at Moody Coliseum in their game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Unfortunately, these records are the kind that teams do not ever want to break.

UAB defeated SMU, holding the Mustangs to a mere 28 points-the lowest scoring output ever by a team in Conference-USA.

This title was once held by the Blazers themselves, one of which they were certainly happy to resign.

Coach Matt Doherty called the loss “frustrating” and cited UAB’s change in starting line-up and their defense as reasons behind their success.

With a final score of 47-28, the Mustangs managed to set all-time low records in both their conference and school history.

SMU’s futile effort of 28 points was the lowest ever scored by the team in the shot clock era, and the second lowest since 1950.

The team’s lowest score ever came with a victory against rival TCU in 1956, the year Moody Coliseum was built, with a final score of 26-22.

The Mustang’s 12 first-half points beat a previous record low score for a half, one that was held by their 14-point performance against Memphis in the 2009 season.

The defeat marks a continuing trend of a losing season, forcing the Mustangs down to last place in Conference-USA.

No player for SMU was able to hit double digits in any category – a far cry from previous performances by the team this season, especially in their game against TCU.

Senior Robert Nyakundi put up a mere nine points while red-shirt freshman Leslee Smith grabbed six rebounds, beating a personal average of 2.8 rebounds per game.

The forgettable performance not only set all time low records for the school, but also as a team for the season.

SMU shot 17.4 percent from the field during the game, making only eight out of their 46 attempts, falling significantly short of their 41.8 percent season average.

They were weak from the arc, only connecting on three out of their 29 attempts, a statistic that is troubling for a team that relies so heavily on the three-pointer.”One miss shot led to another … it got a little contagious,” Coach Doherty said.

“You want them to try and relax, which is easier said than done,” he added.

Alabama-Birmingham was quick to capitalize on SMU’s struggles, and their lack of mercy showed in the final score.

Freshman K.C. Whitaker led the team with 17 points, while sophomore Jordan Swing dominated the paint with 11 rebounds.

Senior forward Cameron Moore was unstoppable on both ends of the court, closing out the game with a double-double-11 rebounds and 12 points.

Not only were the Blazers on fire offensively with individual performances by Whitaker, Swing and Moore, their defense proved to be crippling to the Mustangs as well.

The Blazers trampled SMU in the paint, more than tripling their rebounds on the Mustang’s end of the court.

They were powerful, pulling down 46 rebounds overall, doubling SMU’s 27.

Although the chances at having a winning season are over for the Mustangs, Coach Doherty is sympathetic to his players.

“Everyone is a one year player except Rodney, Jeremiah and Robert,” he said. “Everyone else is playing their first year of college basketball. It’s new for them and it’s a lot.”

The Mustangs take on the Marshall Thundering Herd Saturday at Moody Coliseum. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.