March 8, 2008
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UTEP shot a blistering 66.7 percent in the second half and overcome a nine-point deficit with 12:50 to play in knocking off Houston, 87-81, in the '07-08 regular season finale on Saturday in El Paso.
The Miners (17-12, 8-8 C-USA), who snapped a three-game losing streak and sent their four-man senior class off on a winning note, outscored the Cougars 11-1 over the final 2:15. UTEP trailed 80-76 with 2:58 remaining.
"I'm very happy for our seniors to be able to go out with a win in their last game at the Haskins Center," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said. "Every one of them made a difference tonight."
UTEP is seeded sixth in the 2008 Conference USA Tournament and will meet sixth seed SMU (10-19) on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. MST. The winner will take on third seed Houston (22-8) in Thursday's quarterfinals at 1 p.m. MST.
The Miners and the Mustangs will be meeting for the second time in 12 days. SMU outlasted UTEP in double overtime, 99-96, in Dallas on March 1. UTEP won the first meeting between the schools in El Paso, 79-66, on Jan. 9.
UTEP's field goal percentage versus Houston (.582) was a season high. The Miners received a career-high 19 points from Tavaris Watts, and 11 assists from Marvin Kilgore to tie his personal best.
Stefon Jackson scored 16 of his 28 points in the second half for UTEP. He made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to put the Miners ahead 85-81 and, after the Cougars' Robert McKiver missed a three pointer, hit a couple more foul shots with four seconds left for the final margin.
Kilgore's layup with 1:39 to go put UTEP ahead for good, 81-80.
McKiver led Houston with 29 points, including 16 in the first half. He was 3-for-10 from the floor in the second half.
The Miners trailed for most of the first half before rallying to take a 41-40 advantage at the midway point. After Houston went ahead 66-57 off a three-point play by Marcus Cousin with 12:50 left, UTEP went on a mini 8-2 spurt to pull within 68-65, and the game was tight the rest of the way.
Randy Culpepper scored 16 points and Kilgore added 12 for the Miners. Lanny Smith had 16 points and Dion Dowell 15 for Houston.
"We did some good things," Barbee said. "We guarded them well. Tavaris stepped up and made some great basketball plays. Gabe [McCulley] made some big basketball plays and Julyan [Stone], without scoring, had a big effect on the game."
Stone finished with six defensive rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in only 15 minutes before fouling out. McCulley hit a key three pointer with 6:06 remaining to give the Miners a 71-70 lead.
UTEP outrebounded the Cougars 42-32, marking just the third time in 13 games that the Miners have had the edge on the boards.
