UTEP and Rice to Tangle Again Saturday Night at the Haskins Center

1/9/2021 12:37:00 PM

UTEP vs. Rice Game Notes

EL PASO – UTEP is set to host Rice for a second consecutive night. The Miners and Owls will tipoff at 7 p.m. in the Haskins Center.

The Miners (6-3, 2-1 Conference USA) are coming off a 101-89 victory against the Owls (8-3, 2-1 C-USA) on Friday night.

A trio of Miners hit 20-plus points as Bryson Williams (29), Jamal Bieniemy (24) and Keonte Kennedy (22) were the first to do so since Feb. 22, 2000.

UTEP set season highs in field goal percentage (54.3), three-point field percentage (42.9), made three pointers (12), and offensive rebounds (16). The Miners only turned the ball over four times against the Owls. In fact, in the last two games, UTEP only has seven turnovers, and has outscored its opponents 53-11 on points off turnovers.

Along with setting a career high in points, Kennedy set a career best with five assists. Bieniemy also set his collegiate career high in points and three-point field goals (five), while leading the Miners with six assists. Bieniemy is averaging 5.6 dimes per game, ranking 33^rd nationally.

Tydus Verhoeven registered another solid outing, scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and blocked a pair of shots. Verhoeven is shooting 74.4 percent from the floor this season and averaging 7.1 points per game after averaging 1.5 points last season.

Rice shot 55.6 percent from the field, while Max Fielder led the Owls with 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting and dished out a game-high seven assists. Travis Evee added 21 points and Riley Abercrombie had 14. Quincy Olivari, who entered Friday's game averaging 18.0 points per game, only tallied six points on 2-of-8 shooting.

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