UTEP Loses a Heartbreaker to UAB

It would be an understatement to say that things haven't been going smoothly for the Miners these past few weeks. The trend continued on Saturday night as UTEP lost its first home conference game of the season to UAB 61-60.

The Miners fought all night long, nearly pulling off the last second victory as Michael Perez took the potential game winning shot at the buzzer, but came up short. UTEP outshot UAB and had solid offensive performances by John Bohannon who scored a career high 22 points, and Julian Washburn who added 16 points.

The Miners have not been able to win the close games this season, falling to 1-5 in games decided by 5 points or less. UTEP had no answer for the precise 3 point shooting effort by the Blazers, especially for Jordan Swing who scored 19 points, accounting for 5 of UAB's 9 three pointers.

The Blazers bench dominated the Miners reserves outscoring them 26-2. With the loss the Miners fall to 10-13 on the season. Things do not get any easier for them as they will face Tulsa on Wednesday night at home. The Golden Hurricane are the hottest team in C-USA, currently on a 7 game winning streak.

Coach Floyd also feels that his team is learning from the close loses and finding ways to improve specific aspects of their game. He mentioned this,

Life is truly a learning experience, and the Miners are learning a lot in the games that they win and lose. It is imperative that they win the close games though, after all it is those games that so often define your season.

Filed Under: john bohannon, jordan swing, michael perez, tim floyd, tulsa golden hurricane, uab, utep

Categories: Basketball, Local / El Paso / Texas, Opinion, Sports, SportsTalk