UTEP Drops Heartbreaker at UAB, 100-97 in Triple Overtime
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. ? Cameron Moore buried a three pointer with four seconds left as UAB outlasted UTEP, 100-97 in triple overtime, on Saturday at Bartow Arena.
It was another classic battle between the Blazers (11-3, 1-0 C-USA) and the Miners (13-4, 1-1 C-USA), who forced the first and second overtimes on three pointers by Christian Polk and Randy Culpepper.
Last season the Miners beat the Blazers, 74-65 in double overtime, in Birmingham for their first victory over a ranked team in nine years. But this time fortune turned in favor of UAB.
Nevertheless, it was a gutty effort by UTEP, which lost three frontcourt players (John Bohannon, Gabriel McCulley, Jeremy Williams) to five fouls and ended the game with reserves Claude Britten and Isaac Gordon joining starters Randy Culpepper, Christian Polk and Julyan Stone on the floor.
The loss snapped UTEP?s 15-game Conference USA regular season winning streak dating back to last season. The Blazers moved to 8-0 at home this season.
Culpepper scored 30 of his 34 points in regulation for the Miners. Britten scored all 14 of his points in the extra sessions, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the field during that span.
Julyan Stone added 14 points, six rebounds and nine assists while playing on a sore knee, and Polk chipped in with 12 points.
Moore scored 29 points ? including 15 after regulation ? and Aaron Johnson added 26 for UAB. Jamarr Sanders added 18 points, including several key buckets late in regulation.
The Miners will spend the next four days in New Orleans leading into a Wednesday matchup at Tulane (6 p.m. MT). The Green Wave remained unbeaten at home (8-0) with a 79-70 win over SMU on Saturday at Fogelman Arena. UTEP is 0-2 in two previous trips to New Orleans with losses during the 2006-07 (92-67) and 2008-09 (86-77) seasons.
