SMU held a big lead early, but it couldn't hold on against a determined Memphis team.

The Mustangs fell to Memphis, 76-72, at FedExForum in an American Athletic Conference matchup Tuesday night. The game pitted two teams looking to maintain the second-place spot in the conference behind Houston.

In the end, it was Memphis (9-5, 5-2 in AAC) that dug its way out of an early hole to score its third consecutive victory. SMU slipped to 8-3 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Tuesday was SMU's first road loss of the 2020-21 season. The Mustangs are now 3-1 in road games this season.

SMU opened with the game's first seven points, and the Mustangs had their first double-digit lead with 9:13 in the half after a Tyson Jolly putback. Will Douglas drained a 3-pointer around the 6:40 mark to give SMU its largest lead of the half, 26-13.

But Memphis battled for the remainder of the first half and turned the tables using a 17-2 run in the final five minutes of the half. The Tigers tied the game at 31 on a driving layup by Alex Lomax. Memphis led, 34-31, at halftime.

There was a point where SMU was shooting 75% from the floor. The Mustangs made 9 of their first 12 shots. But SMU connected on only 4 of their next 16 attempts -- while Memphis, which started cold from the field, found its rhythm.

SMU managed to retake the lead, 62-61, with 7:33 left in the game, as Kendric Davis found Feron Hunt on an alley-oop. From there, the teams traded leads until the final two minutes of the game.

Memphis led, 73-70, and at the 1:38 mark, Davis appeared to have tied the game with a double-pumped 3-pointer. The shot, however was waived off, as officials said Davis' attempt was after the shot clock buzzer.

From there, Memphis managed to get late free throws by Lomax and Lester Quinones to pull away. SMU made only 1 of its last 7 field goals for the game.

Five Tigers finished with double figures in scoring. Lomax led the team with 14 points. Moussa Cisse had 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks on the night.

Jolly, playing in only his second game for SMU, had a game-high 15 points before fouling out late in the contest. Emmanuel Bandoumel had 13 points, and Hunt added 10. Davis, the AAC's leader in scoring and assists, had eight points and six assists.

These same two teams will run it back Thursday, with SMU being the host. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.