After another heartbreaking loss at Louisiana Tech on Thursday, the Rainbow Warriors traveled to Dallas yesterday. The 'Bows will conclude their three-game road trip at Southern Methodist today at 3 p.m. (Hawai'i time).

"I said before this trip started that if we could win two out of the three then we'd still be in good shape," Wallace said. "Well, we have a chance to do that."

But the 'Bows will not have a chance to do anything about their 71-70 loss at Louisiana Tech.

Wallace said a review of the game film indicated that Hawai'i guard Deonte Tatum did not commit a foul against LaTech's Paul Millsap with the score tied at 70 in the closing seconds. Millsap made one of two free throws with 4.0 seconds remaining for the winning margin.

"There's nothing we can do, nothing the league can do, nothing anybody can do," Wallace said. "It was one of the worst calls of the year, but you move on from it."

Wallace said he attempted to enter the officials' locker room after the game, but was physically stopped by arena security.

"There was some shouting, but nothing more," Wallace said. "All I wanted to do was tell the ref that I was going to mail him a copy of the tape."

Instead, the 'Bows were sent to their bus for a five-hour ride from Ruston, La., to Dallas.

"I stayed up to 3 in the morning with Deonte just talking about what could have been," Hawai'i junior forward Julian Sensley said. "That was a tough call to take at the end, but that's the way our season's been going."

The 'Bows will try to rebound against SMU in a game that could have a major impact in the positioning for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

Hawai'i is 13-6 overall and in sixth place in the WAC at 5-6. The Mustangs are 10-10 and seventh in the WAC at 5-7.

The top six teams in the standings at the end of the regular season are seeded into the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament. The bottom four participate in the dreaded "play-in" games to get into the quarterfinals.

The 'Bows beat SMU, 71-59, last month in Honolulu. However, the Mustangs should be a different team today with the return of star point guard Bryan Hopkins.

The 6-foot junior missed the Hawai'i game because of a wrist injury. He is averaging 16.7 points, 4.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game.

"He obviously gives them a lot more quickness and offensive firepower," Wallace said. "And they'll probably try to press us more defensively with him in there."

Hawai'i guard Jake Sottos had a breakout game in the first meeting with SMU. He scored 17 points off the bench and has since earned a starting spot.

"We're still a confident team," Sottos said. "All our losses have been close, so we feel like we can play with anybody. Eventually those games will start to go our way."

SMU shooting guard Derrick Roberts also missed the last Hawai'i game with a knee injury and is questionable for today's game.