UTEP Gets a Tremendous Victory Over UAB on a Night Where Jeep Jackson Was Honored

On an evening where beloved UTEP legend Hernell "Jeep" Jackson was honored with his family present in an emotional halftime tribute, the Miners put together a tremendous second half to beat UAB 63-59 at the Don Haskins Center.  UTEP couldn't hit the broad side of a barn to start off the game as they found no offensive rhythm in the first half, shooting just 31.8 percent, and managed to score only four points in the first eight minutes of the game.

Despite their poor shooting performance in the first half, the Miners were only down 28-19 as they went into halftime.  UTEP came out fired up in the second half as Omega Harris and Matt Willms led the way en route to the impressive comeback.  Down 30-19, UTEP went on a 10-0 run to get back into the game, and eventually outscored the Blazers 44-31 by shooting 57.7 percent, in what was a complete turn around from their dismal first half performance.

At one point the Miners went on an incredible 37-16 run to take a 10 point lead at 56-46, and never looked back.  UTEP improved to 7-14, 5-4 in C-USA, and have now won 5 of 6 after losing twelve straight games.  Omega Harris led all scorers with 23 points, 19 of which came in the second half, while Matt Willms added a near double-double with 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Dominic Artis tallied 11 points.  Jake Flaggert also contributed with 9 points and 4 boards.

The Miners will next host C-USA powerhouse Middle Tennessee on Saturday, the Blue Raiders have won 10 straight games and are undefeated in conference play.  They  beat Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year in what was regarded as one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history, due to the fact that State was one of the favorites to win the NCAA championship.