UTEP Downs UTSA 73-55

Earvin Morris set a new career high, and six UTEP players scored eight points or more as the Miners picked up their third conference road win in three attempts with a 73-55 win at UTSA.

The Miners opened up the game with four straight to take an early 4-0 lead less than a minute into the ball game, but these two teams would go back and forth for the majority of the first twenty minutes.

UTSA would answer with four of their own to tie the game at four just 47 seconds later, and would find themselves owning their first lead of the game at 13-11 following a Phillip Jones and-1 with 13:07 left in the half.

An 8-0 run would give the Miners the lead right back, and would give them their largest lead of the first half at 19-13. The Roadrunners, however, would answer with a 9-0 run of their own, giving them their largest and final lead of the ball game.

A three by Earvin Morris would knot the game at 22, and would spark another Miner run. They would lead 30-24 following a Morris dunk with 1:02 left in the half, and would own a 30-26 lead at the half.

UTEP would open the second twenty minutes with a 7-2 run, extending their lead to 9, and they would continue to open things up from there.

A pair of Cedrick Lang made buckets around the 10 minute mark would put the Miners up 13 at 52-39, and the Runners wouldn't be able to get much close than that the rest of the way.

The Miners would own their largest lead of the night at 61-43 following an Earvin Morris made three, a lead they'd hold onto until the end. UTSA would pull it back to as few as 11 with 3:10 left to play, but in the end the Miners would walk away with the 73-55 victory.

Earvin Morris led the way with a career high 23 points on 9-15 shooting. Cedrick Lang finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds, Julian Washburn went for 11 and 6, and Vince Hunter and C.J. Cooper finished with 9 points apiece.

Kaj-Bjorn Sherman and Larry Lewis were the high scorers for UTSA, with each finishing with 11 points. Jeromie Hill finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds, and Keon Lewis chipped in with 8 points.

As a team, the Miners shot 49.1% from the field, 35% from range and 75% from the free throw line. UTSA finished shooting 38.5% from the field, just 20% from deep, and 54.5% from the line.

The Roadrunners did hold a 35-32 advantage on the boards, but committed 20 turnovers to 15 for the Miners, and had just 7 assists on their 20 made baskets, compared to 13 on 27 for UTEP.

The win improves the Miners to 12-5 overall and 4-1 in Conference USA play, while giving them a sparkling clean 3-0 record on the road in league play. UTSA falls to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in conference.

The Miners did an excellent job of taking away UTSA's strengths and forcing them to try and beat them in other ways. They were able to hold them to just 3 made three pointers and 12 made free throws. Those two things alone were a huge factor in the win.

Earvin Morris continue to become an amazing talent and asset to this basketball team, and while Vince Hunter may be the best player on the team, Morris is turning out to be our best shooter and scorer.

The win is a great way to start what should prove to be a very difficult road swing, and the Miners must continue to play at a high level if they want to keep their road record clean next week.

Up next, the Miners will head to Bowling Green to take on a red hot Western Kentucky squad. Tipoff for the game is slated for 7:00 p.m. MT, and the contest is scheduled to be carried by Fox Sports Network.

Make sure to stay tuned to MinerRush for coverage of all things UTEP sports. Also, make sure to Follow @sbnminerrush on Twitter and as always don't forget to like our Facebook Page. Picks Up, and Go Miners!