In the final half of SMU’s 61-51 loss to 1-seed Cincinnati at Orlando’s Amway Center in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament, the Mustangs started to run out of gas.
Injuries and scholarship reductions forced SMU to employ a seven-man rotation, leaving just two scolarship players on the bench. Now, playing the second game in two days, the Mustangs could only watch as the Cincinnati lead grew and grew in the game’s final minutes.
“We were just trying to catch our breath,” senior guard Ben Emelogu said following his final game in an SMU uniform.