SMU 56 UC-Upstate 58
Dec. 18
The Mustangs blew a 14-point lead with nearly nine minutes left in the game. The Mustangs scored only four points in the final eight and a half minutes of play. Bamba Fall led the Mustangs with 15 points.
SMU 57 Praire View A&M 49
Dec. 20
Two nights later the Mustangs bounced back, riding 24 free throws in the second half. Overall, SMU went 30-45 from the charity stripe.
Derrick Roberts led the Mustangs with 15 points on a night in which both teams shot under 33 percent from the field.
SMU 77 Texas State 70
Dec. 29
After SMU built a 14-point lead in the first half, Texas State rallied and cut the lead down to single digits. The Mustangs sustained the Bobcats’ late surge with five players in double figures. Roberts led the Mustangs with 16 points, while Ryan Harp chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds.
SMU 58 Stephen F. Austin 61
Dec. 30
The Mustangs’ second game in the SMU Holiday Classic was a seesaw match up that featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes. SMU led by one point until the Lumberjacks’ Nick Shaw knocked down two free throws with less than 30 seconds left in the game. SMU was unable to convert on its next time down the court.
SMU 52 Colorado 63
Jan. 5
The Buffaloes held a double-digit lead for a significant portion of the game. SMU made a late charge and cut the Colorado lead to six with 68 seconds remaining in the game. The surge came too late since the Buffaloes hit over 80 percent of their free throws down the stretch.
SMU 66 UTEP 79
Jan. 9
In their first conference game of the season, the Mustangs were unable to overcome 19 turnovers and 15 UTEP offensive rebounds. In the loss, Jon Killen scored a career-high 24 points while adding six rebounds and six assists. Papa Dia and Fall also posted double-digit points.
UTEP was led by Stefon Jackson, one of the nation’s top 10 scorers. Jackson posted 27 points against the Mustangs by going 11-20 from the field. The Miners also received help from Randy Culpepper, who added 18 points off the bench.
SMU goes 2-4 over the break
In spite of playing sub .500 basketball over the break, two of SMU’s losses came in the final seconds of the game.
The Mustangs’ overall record fell to 6-8 over the break. After playing their first conference game of the season, the Mustangs have a 0-1 record in C-USA play.
SMU has a chance to even its conference record on Wednesday when Moody Coliseum hosts the Houston Cougars. The match-up will test the young Mustangs since the Cougars are consistenly ranked as the second-best team in Conference USA.
