| Houston |
25 |
33 |
4 |
62 |
| UTEP |
21 |
37 |
9 |
67 |
Date of game: 3/7/2012
|
Recap: Texas-El Paso vs. Houston
Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Gabriel McCulley put in 18 points and brought down eight rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Texas-El Paso Miners to a 67-62 overtime victory over the ninth-seeded Houston Cougars in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament at FedExForum.
John Bohannon scored 16 points and hit a huge shot late in the game while Michael Perez added 14 and Julian Washburn chipped in 10 for Texas-El Paso (15-16). The Miners will face top-seed Memphis in the second round.
Alandise Harris had a double-double with game-highs in points (25) and rebounds (12) while TaShawn Thomas added a double-double of his own with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Houston (15-15). Jonathon Simmons chipped in 10 points and handed out five assists as well for the Cougars.
Houston led at the break 25-21 after turning in the better performance shooting the ball in a first half in which neither team was particularly successful. The Cougars converted on 37.9 percent of its shots while UTEP hit on 32.0 percent of its shots and had only eight field goals.
The Miners heated up to 54.2 percent in the second half while Houston also improved but to a more meager 43.3 percent. The Cougars led 54-49 with 3:12 remaining but the Miners hung around and tied the game 56-56 with one minute left. Harris hit a jumper to put Houston ahead 58-56 but Bohannon answered with a layup to tie the game 58-58 with 19 seconds on the clock. Harris then missed a shot as time expired and the game went to overtime.
After the teams traded baskets the Miners went on a 7-0 tear in the extra period and held on to advance.
The teams were even on the boards 39-39 and the Miners outscored the Cougars 16-6 from the free throw line in the game.
Game Notes
