UTEP wants to #PacktheDon for Saturday’s Noche Latina game at 2 p.m., Floyd’s attempt at win 400

UTEP is set to have “Noche Latina” at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Don Haskins Center as the Miners try to get Coach Tim Floyd his400th collegiate career win at the expense of UT San Antonio in the Lone Star Rivalry.

The fourth annual Noche Latina is a game where fans are invited to attend and celebrate their Hispanic heritage. The NBA and Major League Baseball have also had similar Noche Latina games in recent years, too.

The UTEP basketball team will wear special “Mineros” jerseys. Any fan that buys a single game ticket will be entered to win an actual custom “Mineros” team jersey during the game.

Entertainment will include mariachis and a children’s folklorico group performing during the game, the pep band and the audio engineer playing Spanish music, and video board elements.

And to encourage those long jump shots, fans will be given 3-point shooting cards written in Spanish.

Tickets start at $8 for the game that will be nationally televised on Comcast Sports, but not shown on TV in the El Paso area. Tickets may be purchased at the UTEP Ticket Center, Ticketmaster locations, and online at Ticketmaster.com.

All the Miners swept their two-game roadtrip, Floyd is downplaying the wins.

“We really haven’t done anything other than have two really nice road wins and given ourselves a chance in the league,” he said. “Our margin of error is small. We’ve got to play tremendous defense regardless of who we play, and we’ve got to play really smart to keep guys in games and not foul out because of our lack of depth. But I’m really proud of this team right now, their effort and ability to game plan, to share and the fact they’re acting like they like each other. They like coming to work every day.”

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #PacktheDon on Twitter to get family and friends fired up to go to the game and cheer on the Miners as they try and get Floyd that 400th collegiate career win.

Miner Legend Of The Game

Saturday’s Miner Legend is Nevil “The Shadow” Shed, a member of the 1966 Texas Western College national championship team.

A three-year letterman for the Miners (1964-67), Shed played in 79 games and averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds with a .462 field goal percentage and .738 free throw percentage.

He averaged 10.6 ppg as a junior and 10.3 ppg as a senior.

The native of New York, N.Y. was a third team All-District selection by the NABC in 1967.

He was a member of two NCAA Tournament teams (1966, 1967) and one NIT squad (1965).

Shed scored 12 points versus Kansas in the 1966 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and nine points against Utah in the semis. He had three points and three rebounds in the 1966 championship game.

He was chosen by the Boston Celtics in the fourth round of the 1967 NBA Draft.

Shed’s pro career was cut short due to a knee injury.