Feb. 5, 2015
Final Stats
UTEP 63, Florida Atlantic 56 (Box Score) 
Vince Hunter scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, and Cedrick Lang added a season-high 16 as UTEP dominated inside during the second half of a 63-56 win at Florida Atlantic on Thursday.
UTEP (15-7, 7-3 C-USA) outscored the Owls (8-12, 1-8) 24-6 in the paint over the final 20 minutes.
"We got good efforts from our bigs tonight," UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. "Vince was aggressive, Cedrick was really aggressive. [Hooper] Vint gave us solid minutes. We were able to handle them in the paint in the second half, 24-6, which was a really big stat. We held them to 33 percent from the field in the second half, which is another good stat for us."
It was anybody's game with a minute left and UTEP leading 55-54. But the Miners, who struggled from the foul line for most of the night, went 8-for-10 in the final minute and got more than enough stops on defense to score their third consecutive victory.
After FAU's Solomon Poole buried a three pointer to tie the game at 50, the Owls went the final 5:44 with just six points and one field goal. During that span FAU shot 1-for-7 from the field with four turnovers.
Justin Raffington led Florida Atlantic with a season-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Marquan Botley, who burned the Miners for 23 points and a game-winning three pointer last year in El Paso, shot 3-for-9 and scored 11 points while being defended by Julian Washburn.
"I thought Julian Washburn was incredible guarding a 5-9 guy who's a jet out front and is really the centerpiece to everything they're doing offensively," Floyd said. "I thought he gave him fits, including a big block late in the ballgame."
UTEP's seven-point lead at the conclusion was its largest in a closely contested ballgame. The game was tied at 27 at halftime.
After Raffington put the Owls ahead 41-38 on a jumper with 11:12 to play, Hunter and Lang scored the next 11 points for the Miners and 20 of the final 25.
The Miners won the rebounding battle (35-34) and shot 46.9 percent to Florida Atlantic's 39.3.
"Omega Harris went back and got us six rebounds, which is a great backcourt stat," Floyd said. "We really needed that. Hooper Vint had six rebounds off the bench, another important stat tonight. We're just glad to get a win on the road. They're all tough."
Vint scored nine points with six rebounds, both career highs, in 19 minutes off the bench.
The Miners will play at FIU on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. MT as they wrap up their Sunshine State sojourn. The game will be televised on the American Sports Network.
