Watch UTEP Wax Sac State, Floyd Suspend McKenzie Moore

On what should have been a successful but uneventful night of hoops at the Haskins Center, junior McKenzie Moore went from leading scorer to lede story. The Miners' top gun was suspended by head coach Tim Floyd for UTEP's next game against New Orleans.

After Moore was subbed out in the latter stages of the Miners' 69-51 blowout of Sacramento State, he sat near the end of the UTEP bench. Whether or not that was the action that drew the negative attention from Floyd no one knows; but the Miners' head coach was irate, walking down the sideline, telling Moore sternly "Get off the bench" -- those words among others more colorful -- and head to the locker room.

Moore didn't budge.

"I didn't like his actions tonight on the floor as we pulled him out of the game," said Floyd. "I think he needs to learn to handle the little bit of success he's had, needs to learn to defer at times and be a better teammate. So we'll utilize this next ballgame to see if we can watch some growth with him."

The junior transfer from Pleasant Hill, CA, has been pleasant this season for the Miners so far, leading all scorers with an average of 13.6 points per game. Clearly, though, Floyd saw something he felt he needed to address with Moore, and did. In a very direct and unmistakable way.

UTEP will take on Floyd's old school, the University of New Orleans, Dec. 16th without Moore. Check out the Miners' coach as he talked about the game, along with Julian Washburn (5 points, 10 rebounds) and Matt Wilms (12 points, 6 rebounds).

For the complete game story, click this link.