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UTEP ends Costa Rica tour with 78-73 win over University of British Columbia

By Alex Nicolas
NCAA Basketball: UAB at Texas-El Paso Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports

Three Miners reached double figures, as a strong second quarter helped UTEP end their Costa Rica Exhibition tour with a 78-73 win over the University of British Columbia.

UTEP shot 52 percent from the floor, and 8-for-18 from long distance, and won the battle of the boards with a 36-29 edge, including seven on the offensive boards.

Trey Wade led the Miners with a double-double scoring 16 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. The 6’5 wing from Georgia also went 7-for-13 from the field in 26 minutes of action.

Isiah Osbourne added 12 points, as did Matt Willms who went 6-for-7 from the field and added five rebounds in just 14 minutes.

Osbourne got UTEP going early with a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter. The second gave UTEP a 23-21 lead with 1:36 left in the opening quarter.

The 6’5 guard from Canada scored 10 first half points for the Miners.

UTEP scored 12 straight at one point in the second quarter, and held UBC to just four points in the second to take a 39-27 lead at halftime.

Matt Willms would knock down a jump shot from the right elbow which put UTEP ahead 49-39 midway through the third quarter as UTEP was in full control.

Trey Wade would then follow up a missed 3-pointer by Osbourne and put it back for two, making it 70-56 Miners with 7:26 left in the final quarter.

Tim Floyd said after the game he played with lots of lineups over the course of the week, putting guys in situations they have not been in, and said the two losses weren’t about winning, it was about the newcomers being comfortable in situations they will see during the regular season.

“I thought it was a good week.” Floyd said after Friday’s game. “We know that we have a lot of work to do in October. I like the fact that our guys were able to bond.”

Omega Harris only played 12 minutes scoring eight points, Floyd said he wanted to get some younger guys some minutes today in resting Harris, Willms, and Paul Thomas.

The Miners led by as much as 15 points Friday, and led for 35 minutes, capping off the tour with a solid win Friday before heading back home Sunday.