The SMU men’s basketball team fell last Saturday night to the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane by a score of 72-60. The loss drops SMU (7-12, 1-5) into a tie for 10th place in the conference with East Carolina. Tulsa (10-9, 2-5) moved into ninth place in the conference.

The first matchup between the Golden Hurricane and the Mustangs was significantly closer when the two teams met on Jan. 19 at Moody Coliseum. In that game, the Mustangs lost by only a point on a buzzer-beating layup.

Senior guard Jon Killen attracted the attention of Tulsa after winning the Conference USA Player of the Week award. The Golden Hurricane’s game plan revolved around stopping Killen from scoring and controlling the game.

Through mainly its perimeter player, Tulsa was able to contain Killen in the first half. He was able to take only three shots and score four points. Containing Killen helped the Golden Hurricane win the half, 41-27.

Killen was able to get some more looks at the basket in the second half but was unable to propel the Mustangs to victory. He finished the game with 13 points and five assists.

Freshman Alex Malone had his most offensively productive game of conference play in the loss. He scored a team-high 14 points and pulled down six rebounds in only 18 minutes of play.

Guards Ben Uzoh and Brett McDade led the Golden Hurricane in scoring with 18 points each. Uzoh also led Tulsa in scoring when the Mustangs and Golden Hurricane played earlier in January. Tulsa only shot 42 percent from the field, but they were able to get to the line 30 times during the game.

The Mustangs will travel to Memphis to face the No. 1 team in the nation, the Memphis Tigers. The Tigers are currently undefeated on the season, but almost lost to UTEP over the weekend.