Jan. 14, 2009
Final Stats
UTEP-Houston Box Score (PDF) 
Kelvin Lewis scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half as Houston pulled away from a tie game at halftime to beat UTEP, 94-86, on Wednesday at the Don Haskins Center.
The Cougars (11-3, 2-0 C-USA) outscored the Miners 52-44 after the break. The game was knotted at 42 at the intermission.
The Miners (10-6, 1-1 C-USA) couldn't pull themselves out of a 14-point deficit with 7:17 remaining, although they came close. UTEP cut its deficit to three (72-69) with 4:51 remaining but couldn't get the necessary defensive stops down the stretch.
Lewis finished 17-for-18 at the foul line to set a Haskins Center opponent record for free throws made. The previous record was 15 by Southern's Byron Gabrel on Dec. 31, 1984.
Guard Aubrey Coleman had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars, who had all five starters score in double figures.
Both teams shot 48.3 percent from the field, but Houston outrebounded UTEP 36-31 and had an advantage at the free throw line as well. The Cougars were 34-for-41 at the charity stripe to the Miners' 23-for-33.
Houston turned a 47-45 deficit into a 63-51 lead with an 18-4 run early in the second half.
Stefon Jackson led UTEP with 27 points, and Kareem Cooper had a career-high 21 points. Randy Culpepper chipped in with 16 points and Tavaris Watts had eight.
Jackson passed Memphis' Rodney Carney and moved into fourth place on the all-time C-USA scoring list with 1,925 points.
The Miners will depart Thursday morning for a two-game road trip. UTEP will play at East Carolina on Saturday at 5 p.m. MST, and at UAB on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
