Bamba Fall will miss his third consecutive game tonight. (Nick McCarthy)

The Mustangs have come up short in close games this season, but SMU will have another shot at the UTEP Miners who defeated the Mustangs by five in January.

“UTEP’s going through a little bit of a slump,” said head coach Matt Doherty. UTEP’s win at SMU made the Miners 4-1 in the conference. Since then they have lost six of seven games and have dropped significantly in the standings.

But that doesn’t make it an easy win.

“They’re quicker, they’re more aggressive, most teams are better at home,” said Doherty, “It’s hard to win on the road.”

SMU has also gone through some changes.

Devon Pearson, leading scorer with 16 points, will miss his second game due to a knee injury. Bamba Fall, who had four blocks, will miss his third game due to a broken bone in his left ring finger. Brian Epps has since been removed from the team. But one change has gone somewhat unnoticed.

Since the game against UTEP, Dez Willingham has started nine straight games. Through those nine games Willingham’s scoring has gone up by 1.1 points per game and peaked in Saturday’s win when he scored a season-high 14 points.

But even with the improved play of Willingham, the Mustangs will be left with a short bench and without key players.

“This will be a test for our guys mentally to go on the road with a short bench,” said Doherty. “Staying out of foul trouble and fighting fatigue along with confidence and composure will be an extraordinary challenge for us.”

The other key will be Ike Ofoegbu.

Ofoegbu has looked more comfortable as the marquee player for SMU. With three consecutive double-doubles the last three games and nine consecutive games with double-digit scoring Ofoegbu has been a force in the Mustangs’ lineup.

“He’s been playing great,” said Doherty about Ofoegbu. “I just think he’s been getting comfortable in his role.”

Ofoegbu is currently the 14th leading scorer in Conference USA and is the second leading rebounder in the conference.

Even with 18 points and 16 rebounds against Marshall, Doherty did not feel that Ofoegbu played with the passion that the coach expects.

“I think that could have been a 30 [point] 20 [rebound] game for him,” said Doherty.

As for the team’s focus after the dismissal of Epps, Doherty wanted the play of his team to reflect how they felt about the decision. Not only was it the first win for SMU in five games, but the team also shot over 50 percent for the first time since Jan. 13 against Houston.

But the Mustangs (14-12, 3-9) must put that behind them if they want to make a run at the end of the season. The first of the final four games of the season begins tonight at 8 p.m. against UTEP in El Paso.

Ike Ofoegbu scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in SMU’s loss to the Miners earlier this season. (Nick McCarthy)