EL PASO — UTSA jumped out to a 12-point first-half lead, but UTEP went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half and held off a late charge for a 69-62 win on Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center.
Ryan Bowie and Jeromie Hill scored 14 points apiece for the Roadrunners (13-12, 7-7 C-USA), which held a 35-33 edge on the glass. Keon Lewis added a dozen as UTSA shot 44.1 percent for the game and scored 34 points in the paint.
Meanwhile, four players reached double figures for the Miners (19-7, 11-3 C-USA) led by 18 from Earvin Morris. C.J. Cooper buried four 3-pointers, including a pair late that helped thwart a late UTSA rally, en route to 16 points, while Vince Hunter and Julian Washburn chipped in with 10 points apiece.
UTEP scored the first five points of the second half to break a 30-30 halftime deadlock and UTSA got on the board with a jumper by Kaj-Björn Sherman to set the tone for a tight second half.
The contest featured a pair of ties and neither team led by more than a possession for the next eight minutes until the Miners went on their run.
Phillip Jones connected on an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Roadrunners a 41-40 lead with 12:59 to play. Bowie’s layup with 11:29 to go had UTSA with a 43-42 edge, but UTEP responded with a 10-0 run and it would not trail again.
The Roadrunners made a charge with an 8-2 spurt that trimmed the deficit to 52-49 and it pulled to within three on two more occasions.
Lewis’ three-point play with 3:24 left sliced the Miners’ lead to 58-55, but Cooper put the game out of reach with back-to-back 3-pointers. UTSA got within four points with 22 ticks left, but could get no closer as UTEP hit five free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
The Roadrunners opened the contest on fire and hit nine of their first 11 shots to establish a lead that they would hold for much of the first half.
Bowie hit a 17-foot jumper to start the game as each member of the starting five scored before the team’s first miss. The junior’s 3-pointer extended the UTSA lead to 13-4 before Hill connected on back-to-back layups and Lewis’ basket gave the visitors their first double-digit lead, 19-9.
Lewis buried another jumper and Austin Karrer’s 3-pointer pushed the Roadrunners to their largest lead of the night, 24-12, with 12:26 to go in the period.
However, UTSA went cold from the field and was held scoreless for 7:14 as the Miners went on a 12-0 run to even the score.
Lewis and Bowie scored to regain the lead, but Cooper nailed back-to-back treys to give the home squad its first advantage of the night, 30-28. Bowie then found Christian Wilson for an easy basket and the teams went into halftime knotted at 30.
UTSA will return to the hardwood for a 7 p.m. matchup on Thursday, Feb. 26, at Southern Miss (7-19, 2-13 C-USA).