SMU forward Justin Haynes goes for the basket against Rice Feb. 17 in Moody Coliseum. (CASEY LEE/The Daily Campus)

Head coach Matt Doherty was more fired up than his team on Saturday, when the SMU men’s basketball team lost to the University of Memphis. The 73-63 loss keeps the Mustangs two wins away from the .500 mark with only four games left before the Conference USA tournament next month.
 

Memphis (20-7, 10-2) started the game strong, shooting nearly 53 percent in 3-pointers to give them a 42-32 advantage at halftime.
 

The Mustangs were unable to gain the lead at any point in the game, even though they beat the Tigers just last month in a 70-60 victory in Moody Coliseum.
 

In the second half, the Tigers drained six more shots from the long range, which put them up by a game-high 24 points with 12:49 left. SMU (12-14, 5-7) managed to cut the lead to eight putting the score at 66-58 with just over three minutes left, but a series of successful shots from Memphis, including another 3-pointer from Roburt Sallie increased their lead to 17.
 

“That was a big part of the game. They go 15 of 30 from the 3-point line,” Head coach Matt Doherty told the Associated Press. “I don’t think that’s going to happen every night. But our defense broke down a little bit. We didn’t get to their shooters early.”
 

But the real action was off the court. According to The Jackson Sun, Doherty spent several minutes of the second half yelling and taunting the Memphis fans.
 

Doherty told reporters after the game that he was “[giving] them a hard time,” in response to the comments Memphis fans were targeting at the Mustang players and bench.
 

With four minutes left in the game and Memphis leading by nine points, Doherty, according to The Jackson Sun, made comments such as “At least my guys actually take their SATs” and “At least I went to a real college and not Memphis Tech.”
 

“Memphis fans are really good,” Doherty told the Associated Press. “Memphis is a basketball town. It’s give and take, and they give me a hard time, so I gave them a hard time.”
 

As the final buzzer sounded even the players got into a shouting match when Memphis’ Roburt Sallie and SMU’s Derek Williams exchanged harsh words on the hardwood before heading into the locker rooms.
 

Williams, who was playing with a bruised right knee, an injury he suffered in the team’s last game against Tulane, was held to 11 points, his lowest total in the past three games.
Mouhammad Faye led the Mustangs with 18 points. Junior Papa Dia recorded his eight double double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 

The teams shot competitively from the field, SMU shooting 47 percent and Memphis 48 percent. But the Tigers pulled ahead from the free throw line and long range, shooting 50 and 87 percent, respectively.
 

SMU shot only 39 percent in 3-pointers and 58 percent from behind the line.
The Mustangs head to Greenville, N.C. to take on the East Carolina Pirates (9-17, 3-9) Wednesday night at 6 p.m.