SMU center Papa Dia attempts to block a shot from an opposing UTEP player Feb 10 at Moody Coliseum. (MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus)

After a tough fight, the University of Houston defeated the SMU men’s basketball team, 66-60, Saturday in Houston. This is SMU’s second consecutive loss and puts them at 11-13 overall and 4-6 in Conference USA play, bumping them to ninth place in league standings.
 

“I was really proud of our guys,” head coach Matt Doherty said in the post-game radio interview. “After the UTEP game I was real down, but after this game I’m upbeat because I felt like we played well.”
 

SMU gained a four point lead midway through the first half, but Houston’s success from the free throw line put the Cougars up by five at halftime. Led by Kelvin Lewis with 29 points, the Cougars’ record improved to 13-11 overall and 5-5 in C-USA. In their history with the Mustangs, they are now 42-22 all-time.
 

Lewis, who made seven of his 16 attempted three-point shots, put Houston up by 11 points in the second half, but SMU stormed back behind senior Derek Williams, junior Papa Dia and senior Mouhammad Faye. This evened the gap with just over one minute remaining.

However, Houston’s 18-for-20 performance from the charity stripe sealed the win with four successful shots from Lewis and Aubrey Coleman.
 

Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer with an average of 26 points per game, was held to just 16 points.
 

SMU out-rebounded the Cougars, but according to Doherty, the team failed to take care of the ball, which cost them the game.
 

Despite back-to-back losses, the Mustangs have still won five of their last eight games. Williams, who continues to lead the team in scoring, had 24 points and seven rebounds against the Cougars and is third in the league in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game. Faye contributed 10 points to the score and Dia just missed his eighth double-double of the season with nine points and 10 rebounds.
 

“[Williams] is very adept at controlling the ball, [knowing] when to push and who to go to,” Houston head coach Tom Penders told The Dallas Morning News. “He’s an exceptional point guard and that is the key.”
 

Freshman Rodney Clinkscales, a 6-foot-1-inch guard from Zion, Illinois, also had a strong showing against Houston, posting eight points and one assist. Clinkscales also led the team with two 3-pointers for the night.
 

The Mustangs return to Moody Coliseum on Wednesday evening to host the Rice Owls (7-16 overall, 1-9 conference). Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.