Miner Setback

UTEP Drops SMU, 74-68, In C-USA Opener for Both Teams

DALLAS – The SMU Mustangs (5-8, 0-1) had their chances against UTEP, even after falling behind by 16 points in the second half. But in the end, mistakes - and missed free throws, again - did SMU in.

It was the fifth straight year the Mustangs have lost their conference opener.

“We just dug ourselves too big of a hole,” said SMU coach Matt Doherty. “We were very stagnant in the first half with our offense.”

“In the second half, we went to a smaller lineup and opened up the floor a little bit – a little different offense – more ball screens, four-out, and scored 44 points.”

“We didn’t play very smart at all, especially the first half. There were just so many breakdowns. I think we should have been up at half.” SMU trailed, 31-24, at the break.

On the positive side, Doherty noted the Mustangs out-rebounded UTEP (37-33) and had only five second-half turnovers.

Mouhammad Faye led SMU with 19 points, including three straight 3s during the Mustangs’ furious comeback attempt during the game’s final seven minutes. Faye’s free throw with 2:01 remaining drew SMU to within three, 64-61, but that’s as close as things got as UTEP nailed eight straight free throws down the stretch.

Paul McCoy, SMU’s leading scorer this season, and Papa Dia each scored 10 points. Bamba Fall nabbed a career-high 14 boards.

UTEP’s all-time leading scorer, Stefon Jackson, got his 22 points, but it was Randy Culpepper who did the major damage, blowing up for 28, on 6 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc - the Miners’ only 3s of the game.

SMU's Paul McCoy, right, works out of a tight spot against UTEP's Julyan Stone in the first half.

“He’s a great shooter,” said SMU guard Derek Williams. “A lot of times in the first half, we just lost where he was on the court and that definitely hurt us.”

It was a Culpepper trey that gave UTEP (10-5, 1-0) its first seven-point lead of the game, 25-18, with 5:03 left in the first half, causing Doherty to call timeout for what looked like a “come-to-Jesus” moment with his team. The score had been tied, 18-all, three minutes earlier.

Other Angles

“UTEP’s a great team and I think they’re going to have a great year,” said SMU AD Steve Orsini after the game. “We’re getting better and better, and pretty soon we’re going to turn this program around.”

Orsini was most impressed by the Mustangs’ response after falling behind. “They kept fighting,” he said. “When they were down by a lot, they just kept fighting.” Orsini also noted the play of Faye and other “new faces” who are “really contributing.”

Mustang basketball great Ira Terrell (1973-76) offered these thoughts: “I think it was a winnable game. I think they’ll look back and see the little things – offensive rebounds that they gave up, point-blank put-backs that they missed and free throws.”

SMU shot 10 of 16 from the line, 62 percent, matching their C-USA cellar-dwelling season average. UTEP hit on 16 of 18, for 89 percent.

“Good teams are going to learn to win those games,” Terrell said. “Right now, [SMU’s] still growing, but you see some good things with this team. Obviously, McCoy didn’t have the great game. Mouhammad Faye did. You just need to put it all together at one time.”

The Mustangs also picked up several traveling calls and had a lane violation during an SMU free throw.

Defensively, SMU played it the same as in its win over Colorado, Doherty said. “We went zone on ‘makes’ and [man-to-man] on ‘misses,’ just because it’s easier to get back in a zone when you have a couple of extra seconds and get set.”

“And [the Miners] don’t like the zone. You could tell. … Those kids want to push it and take people off the dribble.”

Still Learning

“Play hard, play smart and play together,” Doherty said. “Those are the three things you really look at. We played hard, we did not play smart and, for the most part, we played together.”

Doherty said teaching the motion offense takes time. “Players … don’t play five-man basketball much growing up, anymore,” he said.

“Kids playing in the summer time play a lot of, ‘I’m gonna take my man off the dribble and if I don’t have the shot, I’m gonna kick it and he’s gonna take his man off the dribble.’”

Bamba Fall, right, defends Stefon Jackson, the Miners' all-time leading scorer. Jackson finished with 22 points Saturday in UTEP's win.

Doherty said “small things” are fixed with film study and repetition. He said the players know what went wrong before he points it out, but getting the knowledge to translate to game situations has been a challenge.

Floor communication between players must also improve, he said. “Getting guys to talk – loudly - is a challenge. Kids don’t talk. Those are things you that have to develop.”

Who is SMU’s team leader at this point? “I think Derek has done a really good job,” Doherty said. “I kind of have a group that I look to – Bamba, Derek, Paul and Mike Walker - right now … as my executive staff, if you will, my senior staff, where [I say,] ‘Hey, you guys come to me. You talk to your teammates.’”

“Anybody can come to me, but I’m opening up this line of communication where, ‘I need your input. I don’t know what you’re thinking. I don’t have all the answers.’”

Next two for SMU:

• @Rice, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 7 p.m.

• Tulane, Saturday, Jan. 17, 7 p.m.

SMU Basketball Notes:

• The Mustangs’ last win in a conference opener came in ‘04, a 67-58 home win over Tulsa.